


Stranger Things

by ShardsInMySkin



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: 2018 Winter Olympics, Alternate Universe - Olympics, Anal Sex, Anxious Katsuki Yuuri, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Smut, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smut, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 10:38:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12886092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShardsInMySkin/pseuds/ShardsInMySkin
Summary: Olympic AU - Victor is an aerial skier from Russia. Yuuri is a figure skater from Japan. Both are competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics. They meet by chance and are drawn to each other immediately. Desire and maybe something deeper quickly become tangled into the equation.





	Stranger Things

**Author's Note:**

> I started out wanting to write an Olympic AU PWP where Victor and Yuuri couldn’t keep their hands off each other (inspired by an article describing the 100,000 condoms ordered for the 2014 Sochi games). I quickly realised I can’t write the two of them NOT being head over heels for each other. Consequently, the short fic I planned turned into 23k word monster. RIP me.
> 
> I’m just a fool with Google so be kind when you inevitably find errors in this. Otherwise, enjoy!

** Stranger things  
  
  
**

“ _Annyeonghaseyo_ – can I help you?”  
  
Yuuri breathed a silent sigh of relief that the receptionist spoke English and had recognised him as a foreigner. He scratched the back of his neck feeling the tips of his ears burning. He tried not to shuffle and squeak his runners on the white linoleum flooring.  
  
“Ahh. Hello. My friend was admitted here last night. Uhh…he was in room 604. He couldn’t find his phone this morning after checking out. Has a phone been handed in?”    


The woman gave him a flat, unimpressed look as he described what the phone looked like. Yuuri smiled awkwardly, trying to hide how tired and irritable as he felt.  

As much as he sympathised with Minami and the horrible day he’d had yesterday, Yuuri was in a foul mood with the lack of sleep and coffee.   
  
He knew it wasn’t Minami’s fault he’d fallen badly on the ice and dislocated his knee in the Free Skate. It was a disastrous ending to the young skater’s Olympic dreams. It made Yuuri feel guilty for the silver medal currently sitting in the safe of his room. However, Yuuri certainly could have done without the sleepless night trying to comfort the other skater as he cried in the hospital bed. Yuuri still had no idea why the other skater had requested his presence. Yuuri was terrible at comforting people.

“One moment, please,” the woman grunted with a thick accent as she turned away from the front desk and slipped out the door behind her.   
  
Yuuri sighed silently, hoping the receptionist could locate the phone so he didn’t have to search the entire Olympic village. As he waited, politely stepping aside so he wasn’t blocking the desk, he felt his gaze drift to the other people in the reception area of the Olympic village hospital.   
  
A few nurses walked past into the bowels of the hospital, chatting in rapid Korean. There was also an agitated looking woman pacing up and down near the entrance with a phone glued to her ear. She looked like a team coach or something similar. Yuuri could just make out the Canadian flag on the sleeve of her jacket.   
  
Yuuri lifted his glasses and rubbed his sore eyes. The walls gleamed in the white fluorescent light, giving him a headache. The whole place had the same antiseptic smell common to every hospital Yuuri had ever visited.  
  
Sitting just to the right of the main reception desk was a window with the universal medical cross lit up in neon green above it. Next to the cross was some Korean text and PHARMACY spelt out in English below it.

Yuuri’s tired gaze fell on someone facing away from him with very pale blonde hair and a long, dark grey coat standing at the window, conversing with the pharmacist. Yuuri studied the man blearily, taking in the backs of stylish black shoes, dark casual pants, a dark scarf and the edge of a light grey top peeking out from the top of the coat. The pharmacist nodded in response to whatever the man said and wandered off behind the counter. Once the pharmacist disappeared behind a back door, the man with pale blonde hair pressed the heel of his hand to his eyes, like he was frustrated with something, then abruptly turned around.

It was so sudden that Yuuri didn’t get the chance to look away. Yuuri started as he locked eyes with an extremely handsome stranger.

The man’s eyes were bright blue, the colour of the sky, and were complimented by platinum hair swept across the left side of his face, handsome pink lips, elegant cheeks and, from what Yuuri could see beneath the layers of winter clothes, a tall athletic figure. Yuuri’s eyes involuntarily slid downwards. His heart started racing.  
  
_…You’re staring at his crotch, Yuuri._

Immediately, he snapped his eyes back up to the other man’s eyes. Then, Yuuri flushed at being caught staring at such a beautiful stranger like a creep. He caught the surprised look of the stranger before he quickly turned away, furiously willing away the pinkness which he was sure had just exploded over his cheeks.   
  
_Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Just ignore him and you can forget that ever happened_.   
  
His heart thudded painfully in his chest and he drummed his fingers against the reception desk at the painfully awkward moment that followed, silently willing the receptionist to come back faster.   
  
“What are you here for?” asked a cheerful voice behind him with a musically lilting accent.

To his mortification, Yuuri jumped like he was some kind of nervous teenager. He turned around hesitantly, willing his heart rate to slow down so he didn’t fall into cardiac arrest in front of the most beautiful stranger he’d ever seen in his life. It’s just the sort of thing he would do.   
  
He locked eyes once again with the stranger who had turned around fully to look at him from the pharmacy window. The man had a gorgeous pink hue to his cheeks that Yuuri hadn’t noticed before.   
  
Yuuri glanced to his left and right.   
  
“Uhh… me?”

The stranger blinked at him in confusion.

“Of course you! Who else would I be talking to?”   
  
Yuuri blinked back.   
  
“…I…don’t know?”  
  
The stranger smirked at him.

“You don’t know why you’re here?” he teased, blue eyes twinkling in amusement.

“Uhhh…”

“Are you sick?”

Yuuri’s mouth dropped open. He retorted without thinking.

“That’s a very personal question to ask a stranger.”

The stranger smiled and Yuuri felt devastated all over again. The man in front of him was otherworldly beautiful. Yuuri hoped his cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. _  
  
_ “Maybe I just wanted an excuse to talk to a stranger and couldn’t think of anything good to say.”

Yuuri found himself speechless for a few seconds before words were being blurted out of his mouth. He’d never been good with the whole brain-to-mouth filter thing.   
  
“Err… I don’t really understand why you would want to talk to me?”   
  
_Yuuri, STOP. What are you doing…?_ His brain screamed at him. _  
  
“_ I’m not very interesting.”  
  
_No Yuuri, you’re not supposed to tell hot strangers how boring you are!!!!  
_  
“Hmmm.”   
  
The man fixed him with a calculating stare, pressing a single finger to his lips.  
  
“We don’t know each other, so perhaps I’ve formed the wrong first impression of you. You see, you look interesting to me. You’re too young to be a coach; you must be an athlete, no?”  
  
Yuuri stared back in astonishment. What the actual fuck??  
  
“…I?”  
  
He closed his mouth and swallowed, nodding. There were several moments of silence as they looked at each other.   
  
“…Do you always talk to strangers this way?” Yuuri asked eventually, swallowing thickly.   
  
“Only the cute ones” the man said, winking.   
  
Yuuri’s jaw worked up and down silently for several seconds, trying to understand if this was some kind of odd dream.  
  
“That was…. cliché,” he got out of his suddenly uncooperative  mouth.   
  
The man frowned, pouting.   
  
“Normally, people swoon when I wink at them.”  
  
Yuuri’s confusion grew.   
  
“Oh, sorry” he mumbled, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.   
  
The most beautiful man on the planet was…. really awkward?

“What’s your name?” Yuuri eventually asked after another long pause, mind gone strangely blank with shock.  
  
Yuuri again felt confused when Victor looked slightly surprised by the question…. Was Yuuri supposed to know him? Was he someone famous? Did he just offend someone really important?   
  
“I’m Victor.”   
  
Yuuri later blamed the sleep deprivation and lack of caffeine for his next words. He couldn’t believe he was being so bold, standing in front of the world’s most beautiful man, with his heart pounding and cheeks red.   
  
“I um... I’m going to get some coffee after this.”   
  
Yuuri gestured vaguely to the reception desk.   
  
“Do you drink coffee…?”   
  
Victor didn’t immediately reply and Yuuri realised his phrasing was awkward. He cleared his throat even as his brain screeched at him.  
  
_What the hell are you doing, Yuuri???_  
  
“Are you busy? Would you like to get coffee, Victor?”  
  
Victor grinned. It was like the sun breaking through the grey clouds on an overcast day. His grin was heart-shaped and the most adorable thing Yuuri had ever seen. His heart skipped a beat in his chest.   
  
“Yes, wonderful!”  
  
_Noooo, what are you doing? You have no idea who this person is! He could be the world’s hottest axe-murderer for all you know!!_ Yuuri’s brain screamed at him as the next set of words tumbled out of his mouth. His pride demanded he ask it, even if he was talking to the most beautiful man on the planet… Maybe _because_ he was talking to the most beautiful man on the planet…   
  
“Do you call every stranger you meet interesting and cute?”   
  
To Yuuri’s relief, instead of looking offended, the other man looked delighted.   
  
“Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever…”

A female voice interrupted their conversation before it could continue.

“Excuse me?”  
  
Yuuri flinched and turned around. He’d almost forgotten the whole reason he’d come to the hospital in the first place.

“This is the phone?”  
  
She held out Minami’s phone and Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief.

He nodded and thanked her, taking the phone and placing it safely in his bag before it could disappear again.   
  
“Did you lose your phone? How clumsy of you.”  
  
Yuuri grimaced.   
  
“Uhh, no.”  
  
There was an awkward pause when Yuuri didn’t explain why he was just given a phone that wasn’t his.   
  
Yuuri internally scrambled for something to say. He blamed being exhausted and under-caffeinated.   
  
“…Would you like to get that coffee now?”  
  
He cringed at himself. However, Victor, again, looked delighted.

“Ah, yes, yes! Let me just pick up Yuri’s medication first.”  
  
“My what?”  
  
“What?”  
  
They stared at each other for several confused seconds.   
  
“I’m picking up some medication for my teammate, Yuri,” Victor said slowly.   
  
And Yuuri started laughing like an idiot. It burst out of him before he could stop himself. Yuuri choked it off quickly, hoping Victor hadn’t taken offense to it.   
  
“My name is Yuuri,” he explained.   
  
Victor stared at him. Yuuri laughed again at the surprised look on the other man’s face and to his astonishment, Victor’s cheeks coloured pink.   
  
“Oh!”  
  
Yuuri got himself under control and smiled, hoping he didn’t look like some kind of fool.    
  
Yuuri tried to crush the part of his brain which was internally questioning where the hell he was getting all this confidence from and why the hell someone so good-looking would bother getting a coffee with someone like Yuuri. There were plenty of other better looking, funnier or smarter people Yuuri was sure were willing, and ready to go, in the Olympic Village.  
  
  


\---  
  
  
  
The hospital café was just outside the reception area and was painted in warm browns and caramels. They took a table next to a window and watched snowflakes gently drift down from the grey pregnant clouds. Snow caught on the spindly branches of black skeletal trees outside the window. Yuuri could just see the distant grey outlines of mountain peaks from their cosy spot.   
  
It turned out that Victor Nikiforov had just finished competing in the men’s aerial skiing event for his home country of Russia. It explained his gorgeous accent and very pale complexion.   
  
“I have a teammate named Yuri Plisetsky. On his final jump he had a bad fall and landed on his wrist. It was broken in three places.”   
  
Yuuri frowned sympathetically.   
  
“Yuri insisted on still competing. Our coach Yakov had to physically restrain him until the ambulance arrived.”  
  
Yuuri knew as well as any athlete what an injury like a broken wrist meant. Yuri Plisetsky may never compete again and his Olympic dreams were over for the next four years. The frustration was understandable, although this other injured Yuri did sound more…determined than other athletes? Yuuri didn’t think many other athletes insisted on competing with broken bones.   
  
“You were picking up his medication for him today?”   
  
Victor nodded.  
  
“He is very angry at the moment. Like a little angry kitten who tries to scratch anyone getting close. Yakov has banned him from talking to anyone outside the village in case he damages the team’s reputation.”  
  
Yuuri swallowed. He’d always hated the politics and media involved in competing. It made him feel like he was constantly being watched and judged for every word which came out of his mouth. He felt he could only truly relax back in his room. He peered at Victor curiously.

“Why are you picking up the medication instead of your coach? Is that allowed?”   
  
“Ahh…” Victor looked away. The skin around his eyes tightened subtly and Yuuri felt bad suddenly for asking the question.   
  
“Yakov is busy with the others on our team and he thought I needed a little fresh air.”   
  
Yuuri’s gut twisted uncomfortably, unsure whether this was a cue that Victor wanted to share more details or whether it was a sign to back off. He had always been terrible at reading people emotionally.

“I…” Yuuri squirmed in his seat, searching for words, “Did… did you do badly in your event?”  
  
Immediately, Yuuri cursed himself for being such an insensitive idiot. It was one of the worst things you could ask a fellow competitive athlete.

 _An incredibly hot athlete wants to have coffee with you and you ask him to explain just how badly he did in his event??? Way to go, Yuuri…._   
  
To his surprise, Victor stared at him and burst into laughter.   
  
“You don’t follow aerial skiing, do you, Yuuri?” Victor asked, not unkindly.   
  
Hesitantly, Yuuri shook his head. His heart lurched at the way his name sounded in Victor’s soft accent.   
  
“Do you follow figure skating?” he shot back.  
  
Victor smiled, holding up his hands defensively.   
  
“No, I don’t.”  
  
“Well then….” He huffed.   
  
Victor chuckled again.   
  
“I won gold.”  
  
Yuuri’s jaw dropped.   
  
“W-wow! Congratulations!”   
  
Victor’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
There was an awkward pause. Yuuri felt again like he’d just said something wrong. Wasn’t congratulating someone on winning gold just being polite? Wasn’t a gold Olympic medal every athlete’s dream?  
  
Victor coughed into his hand.   
  
“So you are a figure skater, Yuuri?” Victor asked, purposely moving the conversation away from where it currently was.   
  
Yuuri nodded. He told Victor the basics about himself. Victor seemed surprisingly engaged and interested about his unremarkable life.

“Your name is Yuuri Katsuki and you compete in men’s figure skating for Japan. You just won a silver Olympic medal for your country… but that still doesn’t explain what you are doing here. Something to do with a lost phone?” Victor pondered, a real smile sliding back onto his face.   
  
Yuuri stared at the other man as he skimmed past the fact he’d won silver at the games. Ever since Yuuri had stepped off the podium, his medal was all anyone wanted to talk to him about.   
  
Yuuri strongly repressed the sudden, completely inappropriate urge to reach over and brush the hair out of Victor’s eyes.   
  
“Ahh, yes. During the figure skating finals my teammate was also injured, similar to your Yuri.”  
  
“My Yuri…” Victor repeated, his smile turning sly.   
  
Yuuri felt himself colour and pushed on, cursing his choice of words and how thick his tongue suddenly felt.   
  
“Minami fell on a jump badly and dislocated his knee.”  
  
Yuuri could still hear the sickening crack as his teammate landed on the unforgiving ice and the swift feeling of dizziness which overcame him when the paramedics had arrived and he’d seen Minami’s kneecap twisted to face the wall, rather than straight up at the ceiling. There was a shocked gasp from the crowd when the man fell and didn’t rise again immediately. Several seconds of stunned and horrified silence filled the stadium as the music was abruptly switched off and Minami was helped from the ice.   
  
Minami had put on an extremely brave face, waving to the crowd graciously as they stood and gave him a raucous standing ovation. He’d only broken down in the hospital room hours later after his knee had been fixed up and the reality of what had happened crashed down on him. Minami had been the first one on the ice that day and the whole incident had left many of the other skaters shaken. No-one needed reminding that figure skating was a brutal sport.   
  
Yuuri shook his head. He described the incident to Victor who nodded and winced at the ending.   
  
“I stayed with him overnight in the hospital. He realised he’d lost his phone after we got him back to his room so I came back to see if he’d left it here.”

“Ahh,” Victor said softly, “very supportive.”  
  
Yuuri swallowed, thinking of how he’d awkwardly patted Minami’s back as he cried on his shoulder the previous night, suppressing the urge to push the other man away.   
  
“No, not really.”   
  
“The whole incident was uncomfortable for you, no? You’re obviously strong to push through it under the pressure.”  
  
Yuuri looked at Victor sharply.   
  
“That’s….”   
  
_Insightful for someone who doesn’t know me,_ he wanted to say although he couldn’t fully agree.   
  
Yuuri’s mind flashed back to the desperate breathing exercises he did before his Free Skate to calm his racing heart. His anxiety, his mental weakness, the way his hand touched down during the final jump causing him to lose gold. He felt like a fraud winning silver.

“That’s?” Victor prompted.  
  
Yuuri shrugged and cupped both hands over the warm coffee mug. As beautiful as Victor was, he refused to spill his worst secrets to a stranger.

“I’m not good under pressure,” he said simply instead.   
  
Victor laughed and Yuuri frowned at him.   
  
“You won a silver medal. I would disagree.”  
  
“You… didn’t sound proud of being an Olympic gold medallist earlier,” Yuuri challenged back, skittering away from the topic he held mixed feelings about.   
  
Victor stopped chuckling. The other man cocked his head and looked at him thoughtfully.   
  
“Are you always like this, Yuuri?”  
  
_Katsuki Yuuri, you are THE WORST at flirting!_ His brain screamed at him. _Are you trying to drive the most beautiful man in the world away??_   
  
His mouth obviously had a mind of its own.   
  
“Are you always so direct, Victor?”  
  
Victor’s mouth closed and his eyes started sparkling. His eyes were laughing behind his pale hair.   
  
Yuuri’s stomach did another flip. The caffeine he was consuming was doing nothing to help settle his nerves.   
  
His mouth asked the question his brain needed to know without permission.  
  
“You… didn’t ask me about my Olympic silver before.”   
  
Victor took a slow sip of his black coffee and placed it down on the table. Then he looked up in interest.   
  
“No, I didn’t,” he confirmed.  
  
Yuuri stared down at his own coffee, trying to order his thoughts.   
  
“Since yesterday, everyone has asked me about my Olympic silver… what it felt like, how I feel now, what’s next, am I proud…”   
  
Lack of sleep. Not enough caffeine. Those must have been the reasons why Yuuri was talking like this to a stranger.   
  
Victor hummed thoughtfully.   
  
“I can ask about your medal, if you want, but… how did you put it just then? You don’t sound proud to be an Olympic silver medallist.”   
  
Yuuri felt shock radiate through him.   
  
Yuuri had politely answered everyone’s questions about his medal, was cordial to the media and said how proud he was to win a medal for his country…   
  
Victor tapped a finger onto the table, looking contemplative. Then the man shrugged.  
  
“I already know what it feels like to win an Olympic medal.”   
  
Victor broke into a heart-shaped grin. Just like that, the tension shattered and Victor moved the conversation away from the uncomfortable territory.   
  
“Something I would rather know about is your home in Japan… you said you came from a small city?”  
  
Yuuri blinked and nodded.   
  
He told Victor about Hasetsu and Victor pushed him for details when Yuuri trailed off. Yuuri ended up describing the way Hasetsu Castle sat on the hill, how the town used to be covered in hot springs but his parents ran the last one, about the cherry blossoms in spring and the seagulls on the beach. Victor seemed completely fascinated.   
  
Yuuri tried not to stare and drool like a perverted fool. How could someone look so alluring while Yuuri talked about his sleepy home town?  
  
Yuuri sucked in a sharp breath.  
  
“I hope I’m not boring you,” he mumbled, staring down at his nearly-empty coffee mug after he finished his description. “I’m sure there are plenty of other things you could be doing right now”.   
  
Victor looked surprised for a second before he pressed his lips together, looking bemused. Was Yuuri being mocked?   
  
“You’re… refreshing to talk to, Yuuri.”   
  
Yuuri looked away and studied the cold murky weather outside. The snow has eased off a little bit but the day was still very grey and overcast.   
  
“Is that a good thing?” Yuuri mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. It was one of his anxious habits.   
  
_Oh God_. Yuuri caught sight of his own reflection in the glass. He realised he was still in the clothes he wore last night. He looked like a crumpled mess. He tried to pat his hair down subtly and smooth down his shirt.

Victor smiled at him like he saw through it all.    
  
“I like it.”   
  
“I’ll keep boring you then,” Yuuri joked weakly.   
  
“Please do.”  
  
That shocked Yuuri into laughing again.   
  
“You’re terrible at flirting,” tumbled out of his mouth like so many other things had in the last hour.   
  
The heart-shaped grin was back.   
  
“I know right! I don’t really have much experience. Especially not with pretty strangers.”  
  
Yuuri couldn’t stop the pleased flush from sweeping over his cheeks, even when his cynical side whispered Victor probably said the same thing to everyone. He tried to repair some of the perceived damage he’d caused from his early comment.   
  
“I’m…I’m sorry. I’ll try not to bore you…. And….”  
  
Yuuri’s mind flew back to their previous words before he’d started rambling about Hasetsu.  
  
“…. I won’t bring up your gold medal again.”  
  
Victor’s expression softened and he bit his lip, looking out the window.  
  
“My medal. It’s… a long story, Yuuri.”   
  
Victor smiled a small, tentative, smile.   
  
“Not something I’d want to bore you with.”  
  
Yuuri returned the smile with a small, hesitant one of his own.  
  
“I understand if you don’t want to tell a stranger…”  
  
He swallowed.   
  
“…but I wouldn’t be bored.”   
  
Yuuri was fairly certain he would find Victor talking about paint drying captivating.   
  
Victor turned back to look at him sharply.   
  
“… I”  
  
They both jumped when Yuuri’s phone rang.   
  
Victor pouted and Yuuri apologised profusely, cursing whoever was on the other line for the worst timing in the world. He fumbled around his bag until he grabbed the device, which was (naturally) sitting right at the bottom.   
  
_Celestino Caldini…._ Dammit.   
  
“Ahh, it’s my coach. I should probably take this.”  
   
Victor waved his hand in understanding.   
  
Yuuri got up to take the call, wandering back out of the café and into the hospital reception area. He tucked himself against the wall and reluctantly answered.

Celestino wanted to know where he was and if he’d found Minami’s phone. The JSF also wanted to interview him and talk about his silver medal. Of course. It was a non-subtle way of saying: get back to your room now.   
  
Yuuri sighed and assured his coach he’d be back in his room in 10 minutes to get ready. The call ended and Yuuri resigned himself to an afternoon of excruciatingly awkward interviews. For a brief, glorious moment, Yuuri considered just not going and spending another hour with Victor instead… or leaving the village and catching a bus to somewhere...or pretending he’d forgotten how to speak fluent Japanese and English.    
  
He pocketed his phone and let the fantasies dissolve as fast as they’d come. He sighed again, looking at his phone mournfully and trudged back into the café to say goodbye to the most beautiful man on the planet.

Victor was looking out the window when he arrived back. The white light from outside fell onto his hair and face, giving him an unfair, ethereal look. It was almost like a photo-shopped cover of a romance novel or something horribly cliché like that.   
  
_I want to keep talking to him…_ Yuuri belatedly realised, with surprise. Victor was beautiful and interesting to talk to and jaw-droppingly sexy. Yuuri had never had such a visceral reaction to someone he barely knew before.   
  
Yuuri furiously tried to crush down the feelings bubbling up from his chest. He was never going to see this person again. There was no point pining for someone who would barely remember talking to Yuuri in an hour’s time. It was stupid to think otherwise.   
  
He cleared his throat as he approached their table again and gave Victor an apologetic smile.   
  
“You are wanted somewhere?” Victor guessed.    
  
“I am,” Yuuri confirmed.   
  
Victor rose gracefully from his seat and together they paid for their drinks and walked out of the café into the swirling snow which had started falling again. Their breaths puffed out in front of them in white bursts and they both stepped cautiously on the icy pavement. The path curved in a crescent moon-shape to the front gates of the hospital and then beyond to the athletes’ accommodation.   
  
Yuuri shivered, wishing he’d had the foresight to bring gloves, and tightened his coat around him. They walked to the front of the hospital grounds in silence and paused at the top of the path when they realised they were going separate ways.   
  
Yuuri chewed on his lower lip, trying desperately to think of something to say. His cheeks started burning as he forced himself to look into Victor’s eyes. His heart was pounding loudly again in his ears.  
  
_Don’t let him go!!!!!_ _Do something!!!_ His brain supplied in its normal, panicky tone.   
  
_This wasn’t even a date!_ He shot back. _It was coffee with a stranger!_ _Let’s avoid making him realise how much of an awkward idiot I am! He’ll forget about me as soon as he walks away!_  
  
His internal monologue came to a screeching halt abruptly when Victor took a step closer to him. The tips of his ears and nose were red with the cold. Could the man get any more adorable?   
  
“Thank you for the coffee, Yuuri. It was wonderful to meet you,” Victor said softly, “I enjoyed talking to you.”   
  
“I…”   
  
Somehow this moment felt just as panic-inducing as the moment before he stepped onto the ice yesterday.   
  
“I enjoyed it too,” he managed to choke out, without sounding like a total moron.   
  
Yuuri stared at the other man as Victor opened and closed his mouth several times.   
  
Finally, the other man’s mouth closed and he shuffled from foot to foot, a flush noticeably breaking over his cheeks, which were already tinged pink from the cold.   
  
 “Please forgive me if this is out of place, or too forward.”   
  
“Huh?”  
  
Victor thrust his right hand forward with his fingers curled over something small and white. Yuuri reached forward and cautiously took a small slip of paper out of Victor’s hand.   
  
_Oh…_  
  
Victor pulled back quickly and took a step away. His cheeks had flushed even darker. The other man looked unreasonably self-conscious for someone who could have had anyone in the entire world.   
  
“… I – I hope that did not upset you? I understand I am not good at this.”  
  
Yuuri felt like he was in shock, like he’d been punched in the stomach or winded. An aching feeling of want flared so brightly in his stomach that Yuuri felt almost dizzy.   
  
“You didn’t upset me,” he forced out between chattering teeth, feeling like he was going to faint at this sudden turn of events.   
  
Victor’s resultant smile was achingly honest, and sweet and relieved.   
  
Yuuri’s fingers were starting to feel painfully numb in the cold. He wasn’t sure if he was shaking from the cold or from the man in front of him.

“Give me your phone,” came tumbling out of Yuuri’s mouth.   
  
Victor’s eyes snapped to his. Slowly he reached into his pocket and unlocked his phone. Then it was carefully passed over to Yuuri.

How was this even Yuuri’s life right now?  
  
He numbly entered his number into Victor’s phone.  
  
After they said goodbye, Yuuri tightly clutched the small piece of paper with Victor’s number on it all the way back to his room.  
  
  
  
\---  
  
  


Yuuri sat in bed later that night after the exhausting, uncomfortably probing interview and subdued dinner with the Japanese team. Many of the athletes hadn’t finished at the games yet and the tension among his teammates was palpable. Yuuri didn’t blame them; he had been exactly the same one day earlier.

The absence of Minami was noticeably felt at the table, particularly given how loud, excited and bubbly the man normally was.   
  
Yuuri’s exhaustion didn’t stop him from googling Victor Nikiforov once he’d returned to his room for the night. It didn’t stop him from spending 3 hours on his phone burning through the free WiFi and absorbing every detail he could find, like some kind of creepy stalker.   
  
The clock ticked past 2am and Yuuri fell backwards onto his pillow with a soft huff, stunned at what he’d learnt.   
  
Apparently Victor was an aerial skiing _legend_. According to Google he’d dominated the sport for years and held all the current world records. No-one, in his time as world champion, had even come _close_ to beating his scores. Although Yuuri was no expert, Yuuri could see why Victor was so successful in the sport as he watched clip after clip of the man flawlessly executing complex flips and twists, making them look as easy as breathing. Victor held a string of titles including gold medallist at the last three FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships and a gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.  
  
Something like embarrassment curled up in Yuuri’s stomach at not recognising him. Victor had clearly been surprised that Yuuri hadn’t known who he was… was Victor known outside of the freestyle skiing world? Nothing that Yuuri could see on Google indicated that, but maybe Victor was a very private person? Or was Victor just that caught up in the skiing world?  
  
For once Yuuri’s brain was kind to him.  
  
_There are hundreds of Olympic sports!_ His brain chided. Y _ou can’t possibly keep track of who’s winning in each of them!_   
  
Yuuri flicked his finger over the screen of his phone and opened another article. He was so engrossed in the commentary about Victor’s career that he jumped as his phone buzzed with an incoming message.   
  
_Surely it won’t be….  
_  
His heart sped up when he saw who it was from.   
  
**Sender: Victor Nikiforov**  
**Hi Yuuri!  
I really enjoyed coffee today. As you know, my event is already finished… I would really like to catch up again if you are interested**  
  
Yuuri was dead. Yuuri honestly didn’t understand why he’d caught the attention of Victor. He knew he was an awkward person who was plain to look at. He was too competitive, he was anxious, he gained weight easily, he was not interesting to talk to and he was deeply lonely. Surely that had come across in their conversation?  
  
_…Just, how?_  
  
His fingers almost unconsciously danced across his phone. He hit send.  
  
**Sender: Yuuri Katsuki**  
**Why are you awake at 2am?**  
  
Then his brain caught up with how rude that must have sounded.   
  
“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!!”   
  
Yuuri stared at the screen in horror when the little ‘delivered’ tick popped up next to his message.   
  
_Whyyyy_ , groaned his brain, going back to its normal criticism, _why are you like this, Yuuri?  
_  
As Yuuri stressed about the best way to apologise for his rudeness, his phone buzzed again with a message. Yuuri’s thoughts flat-lined.   
  
With great trepidation, heart in his throat, he raised his phone to his eyes and opened the message.   
**  
Sender: Victor Nikiforov  
I’m watching videos of you skating! Amazing!  
  
** …Victor didn’t sound offended? And Yuuri was… flattered?   
  
Suddenly Yuuri felt nervous of what the other man thought of his skating. He cringed when he thought of some of the performances the other man was probably watching. He’d never understood why people felt the urge to post his failures online. Was the other man going to be disappointed that a silver Olympic medallist had so many flawed routines in comparison to his polished ones?   
  
Yuuri chewed on his non-existent nails while he contemplated what to respond with.   
**  
Sender: Yuuri Katsuki  
I was watching videos of your ski events too. So impressed! Umm and sorry!!! I would like to catch up too. Did you have anything in mind?   
**  
There. That wasn’t too bad of a reply, was it? Yuuri’s heart thundered in his chest. At least he’d been able to apologise for his rudeness.   
  
The minutes ticked by and his phone stayed silent.   
  
Yuuri tried not to fret, but the pause had him questioning whether his text had sent through or not. His phone had the little grey tick next to the message saying that it had…  
  
…. Did he reply too quickly? Was he being too keen? Victor was a stranger … maybe he came on too strong today and Victor was realising it now.   
  
Yuuri started getting caught up in his anxious thoughts and almost missed it when his phone buzzed again.   
  
**Sender: Victor Nikiforov**  
**I have an idea… I think it might be a little embarrassing though…  
  
  
**  
\----  
  
  
  
The next day they agreed to meet outside one of the villas at lunchtime.

It was freezing cold again, and Yuuri bobbed from foot to foot, trying to keep warm as he waited for Victor. The wind was biting and despite wanting to look put together, Yuuri was wearing his thickest navy coat and gloves as the snow came down steadily. He was certain he looked like some kind of fat penguin with all the layers. At least he’d been able to slick his hair back a little bit so it didn’t look like the ragged nest it had at the hospital yesterday.  
  
Five minutes passed, then ten….  
  
_Have I been stood up?_  
  
Yuuri shook his head trying to dispel the anxious thoughts already building. He shivered, shoving his hands under his armpits.  
  
_He’s probably found someone actually in his league and is chatting to them right now… he probably realised how boring you are…Maybe he’s watching me waiting here for him with his friends right now and laughing…_ His brain supplied helpfully, ever the optimist.   
  
Just as Yuuri started debating whether to head back to his room in shame, unreasonably upset by the thought, _finally_ , Victor came striding out of one of one of the buildings. Yuuri mentally noted which one.

The man looked bright-eyed and completely put together. He was wearing a long stylish brown coat and grey scarf. Yuuri tugged at his own coat self-consciously.

Victor waved and relief flooded Yuuri’s stomach.   
  
“Hi Yuuri!”  
  
Victor stopped in front of him with a bounce.   
  
Yuuri didn’t respond to the greeting. He was trying to repress the residual feelings of hurt from his brain saying he’d been stood up. At the same time, he was hit again by the fact this man looked like a God. How could someone be so devastatingly attractive?   
    
_Do I hug him? Do I shake his hand?? At least say hello!!!_ His brain screamed.  
  
Yuuri didn’t move or speak.   
  
They stared at each other awkwardly.   
  
Victor frowned suddenly and tilted his head, searching Yuuri’s eyes with a surprising intensity.   
  
“You’re…upset?”  
  
Yuuri’s cheeks caught fire and he took a step back, shaking his head automatically.  
  
“Ahh, no, no. I’m fine.”  
  
They stared at each other again and Yuuri winced internally at himself.   
  
He gathered the courage to spill the next words out of his uncooperative throat.   
  
“You’re a bit late. I thought maybe you’d changed your mind. I wouldn’t be too surprised.”  
  
Yuuri laughed awkwardly, scratching at a non-existent spot on his cheek. Why was he such an awkward person?  
  
“…Changed my mind?”   
  
Victor looked shocked, then glanced at his shiny watch and winced.   
  
“Oh. This is completely my fault. I stayed up after our messages last night.”  
  
Victor’s expression changed, growing animated.   
  
“I lost track of time watching videos of you. Amazing! Then I woke up late.”  
  
Victor looked like he regretted nothing.  
  
Yuuri stared at him in disbelief.   
  
“You stayed up late watching videos of me? That was stupid of you.” came falling out of his mouth.   
  
Victor seemed to have a unique trait of being delighted by Yuuri’s rudeness, rather than offended.   
  
His eyes started sparkling, a heart-shape grin breaking out over his face.   
  
“I know! I’m not…what do you call it in English? ... a night-owl at all! I have to tell you, I particularly liked your routine from 2016, called ‘­­­­Eros’…what inspired-?”

Yuuri cut him off, cheeks burning.   
  
“Nothing! I don’t want to talk about that routine.”  
  
Victor laughed.   
  
“Ok, we don’t have to talk about it…”  
  
Yuuri sighed in relief.

“-But I really think we should talk about your free skate in 2015! The costume! Wow!”  
  
Yuuri started striding towards the village gate, face like a tomato.   
  
“Let’s go!”  
  
Victor laughed again, jogging to catch up to him.   
  
The other man had insisted on keeping their endpoint a surprise.   
  
They exited the village and walked along a scenic road towards the main area of town.   
  
An icy blast of wind made Yuuri’s scarf dance and tickled the tip of his nose. He pulled his coat tighter around himself, tucking his gloved hands into his coat pocket and tucked his chin into his scarf.   
  
The road was long and winding. The footpath dwindled away at some points and white snow was piled on the side of the road. Tall alpine trees dotted the area and distant bird calls could be heard when cars weren’t driving past. It was only a 15 minute walk until they reached the city bus terminal and caught a bus heading to Gangneung. The ride took about 30 minutes before they reached the town and hopped off.   
  
Victor chatted about the things he’d found interesting about South Korea so far and they ended up comparing travel horror stories of delayed or cancelled flights going to competitions and other mishaps. Victor was funny… and sounded kind of disorganised and impulsive from some of his stories. But he also clearly had a sharp eye and remembered things he’d found interesting in great depth.   
  
Yuuri typically didn’t warm up to people quickly. However, Victor was… easy to talk to.  
  
“I had a problem once,” Victor laughed, as they hopped off the bus and walked around a curving lip of the road to avoid the slush built up on the edge, “when I bought some foreign vodka to take back to Russia with me.”   
  
“Why would you do that? Isn’t the stereotype that Russian vodka is the best in the world?” Yuuri asked curiously, with a teasing curl on his lip.   
  
“Ahh, but Yuuri! I had to see if those rumours were true! If it was terrible, then we could all laugh about it and prove that Russian vodka is the best!”  
  
Their shoulders brushed as they walked and Yuuri’s stomach did a flip. He clenched his gloved fists and edged away.   
  
“I bought the vodka duty-free and put it in my hand luggage. Then I arrived in Doha customs. I tried my best smile on them and everything….”  
  
Victor frowned.  
  
“But they confiscated my vodka….”   
  
Yuuri snorted and shook his head incredulously.  
  
“You forgot that you can’t take bottles of liquids on flights?”  
  
Yuuri noticed that Victor had a gleeful, almost child-like way of smiling when he was excited.   
  
“Yakov seemed quite upset that I almost missed my flight because of the vodka.”   
  
Yuuri sweatdropped.  
  
“Right… Did you do well in that competition?”  
  
Victor waved his hand dismissively.   
  
“Yes, yes. I won gold. But I made many mistakes, which Yakov was also upset about!”  
  
Victor proceeded to give him a full description of every tiny mistake he’d made in that competition. The technical details immediately went over Yuuri’s head.   
  
Yuuri began to suspect that not only was Victor an incredibly talented athlete, but he also had the right kind of genius to be a coach or choreographer.   
  
They trudged by the outskirts of the town, small houses, stores and a service station dotting the road.  
  
Although Yuuri didn’t feel they were as interesting, he shared some of his own travel mishaps, some of the outrageous things his friend Phichit had tried to smuggle through customs and how strange he’d found the culture in America when he’d lived there a few years ago.   
  
Victor seemed to soak up everything Yuuri told him.   
  
Yuuri continued to question why Victor was so interested in his stories.   
  
Victor steered them towards a busy road lined with commercial food chains, glancing now and then at the navigator on his phone calling out directions in crackly Russian. A few pedestrians glanced at them curiously. The tips of Yuuri’s fingers felt frozen inside his gloves.

When they arrived at their destination, Yuuri felt his jaw drop.   
  
“… Is this a dream?” Yuuri asked, before clamping his hands over his mouth in mortification.   
  
How was he this embarrassing? His brain was making a concerted effort to look foolish in front of the other man. He looked at Victor quickly, trying to gauge his reaction.   
  
Victor flushed, looking delighted and pleased. Yuuri swallowed in relief.   
  
They stood outside the bright yellow ‘M’ and Yuuri could have cried with happiness.   
  
Reportedly, the McDonald’s in front of them was getting busier and busier as the games progressed. Many of the athletes could finally let go after months or years of intensive training, eating to celebrate or in commiseration.   
  
They made their way inside to order and Yuuri actually felt himself getting a little misty eyed as his disgusting meal arrived. It had been _so_ long since he’d indulged in something like this …  
  
They sat again near a window tucked at the back of the restaurant. The meat was processed beyond recognition, the Coke was warm and the fries were soggy… It was the best thing he’d eaten in a long time.

The only thing that could have topped it was his mother’s katsudon. Victor seemed to be having a similarly emotional experience, gazing down at the food with something like awe in his eyes.   
  
“I haven’t eaten fast food in months,” Yuuri said seriously.  
  
“Wow!”  
  
Victor looked contemplative.   
  
“Six years it has been for me.”   
  
“What?”   
  
Yuuri stared at him flatly.  
  
“That’s ridiculous. You don’t look like you’ve ever put on weight!” Yuuri grumbled.   
  
Victor looked at him slyly.   
  
“You like my figure, Yuuri?”  
  
Yuuri looked away, cheeks hot.   
  
_How could I not?_      
  
From what Yuuri could tell, Victor was gorgeous everywhere. He was tall, had broad, masculine shoulders and an athletic build.   
  
_“_ I’ve been told I’ve got a nice ass,” Victor teased, winking at him.   
  
Yuuri’s cheeks were burnt red.   
  
“No, just a big head,” Yuuri grumbled. He tried to steal some of Victor’s chips.   
  
Victor gasped in mock outrage and swatted at his hand.   
  
The touch lingered before Victor pulled away.   
  
Yuuri stopped breathing and felt himself break out in goosebumps. He was glad he was wearing long sleeves and a high collared shirt.   
  
Willing his heart to stop racing, hand still tingling where he’d been touched, Yuuri studied the people smoking just outside the window. The bluish-white smoke of their cigarettes was whipped away by the wind almost as soon as it was released. One person had a small black lab in a purple coat to protect it from the cold grey day.   
  
“You… like dogs?” he asked Victor awkwardly, willing himself back to composure.   
  
_Stop swooning like a horny teenager_ his brain scolded.   
  
Victor’s face lit up.   
  
“Yes! I have a dog named Makkachin.”   
  
His phone was whipped out and Yuuri was told all about Makkachin with extreme fondness. He had a million photos of her stored on his phone. The poodle obviously meant a great deal to Victor.   
  
“This is me and Makkachin at the beach!”   
  
Yuuri was shown a gorgeous shot of the brown poodle on a sunny sandy shore, mouth lolling open next to a grinning Victor in sunglasses and an unbuttoned white shirt.   
  
“This is Makkachin sleeping afterwards.”  
  
The poodle was curled up on a blue couch fast asleep in the photo. A tiny string of drool was hanging out of one side of her mouth.   
  
Yuuri couldn’t help but smile.   
  
“What a good girl. I don’t think you have any pictures of friends on your phone, only your dog,” Yuuri joked, as he was shown yet another picture of the poodle.   
  
“Ah…”   
  
The smile slipped from Victor’s face, and Yuuri realised AGAIN how incredibly rude he was.   
  
_Yuuri. WHAT. HAVE. YOU. DONE??_  
  
“I’m sorry. I…I didn’t mean to suggest… I…”  
  
Yuuri cleared his throat.   
  
“What I meant was, Makkachin obviously means a lot to you… And… and I understand that? I found Yuuchan always understood me better than anyone else in the world.”   
  
Victor looked at him, eyes warming a little more. His mouth was still in an unhappy slant, though, and Yuuri internally kicked himself again.   
  
“Yuuchan?”  
  
Even years after his Toy Poodle had passed away, Yuuri still got the lump in his throat when he thought about his lost companion.   
  
Normally he would have never brought up Yuuchan in a conversation… even with his family.  
  
But…  
  
Victor was still looking unhappy and it was entirely Yuuri’s fault and Victor seemed… Like he might understand what Yuuri was about to say even though they barely knew each other? At least if he made a complete fool of himself, he’d never see Victor again after these games.   
  
Making up his mind and pushing through his uncertainty, Yuuri opened his mouth.   
  
Through his tight throat, Yuuri told Victor about Yuuchan. How Yuuchan was special, how he helped him through the times he didn’t think he’d make it in skating, how he’d calmed him when Yuuri was feeling anxious, how he’d been the best dog in the whole world before he passed away while Yuuri was still overseas.   
  
“That’s exactly how I feel about Makkachin,” Victor whispered, looking at him with something intense and searching in his eyes.   
  
Yuuri laughed, lifting his glasses and rubbing a hand over his eyes.   
  
“Sorry to make the conversation sad. I’m sure this isn’t exactly how you wanted to spend today, speaking to someone you don’t really know about their dead dog.”   
  
Victor’s mouth had taken on a happier tilt at least. He’d stopped frowning at him.   
  
Yuuri now started to feel the embarrassment set in of telling someone he barely knew something so private.   
  
Victor looked contemplatively down at his finished meal, playing with the straw in his now empty drink. His eyes were creased quizzically.   
  
“Actually, Yuuri, this is the best date I’ve ever been on.”  
  
As soon as the words tumbled out, they both froze.  
  
“Date?” Yuuri asked weakly.   
  
Somewhere deep inside he had hoped for exactly that when he received Victor’s text yesterday. However, he didn’t think it was completely outlandish to assume Victor was just flirty naturally and being friendly. Maybe Victor was just a flirty outgoing extrovert who wanted someone to chat to mindlessly while his teammates were still busy with events? Yuuri might have been the person Victor just happened to bump into and Victor was being polite by going out with him. Maybe Victor was bored and so Yuuri was a good option to entertain himself with even though Yuuri was awkward at making conversation and average to look at.    
  
Those assumptions all died in his throat and now Victor was frowning again, a subtle dusting of pink colouring his cheeks.   
  
“Ahh, have I made it awkward now?” Victor asked.   
  
He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his platinum hair with his hand.  
  
“Did I assume too much? I can do that when I’m excited about things. I thought I was being obvious? Perhaps my English isn’t so good… it _is_ my third language.”   
   
No. No. No. No.  
  
This was all going pear-shaped and Yuuri had to fix it right now. Before his sense of self-preservation could kick in, Yuuri let his heart talk instead of his brain.   
  
“Your English is fine. And I agree!” Yuuri blurted out.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Best date ever.”   
  
Yuuri wasn’t sure he was going to survive if Victor kept smiling like that at him. He was so achingly beautiful. The sense of longing and want that he’d been trying to crush down since yesterday reared up suddenly, making his heart beat palpably in his chest.  
  
Warning bells were starting to ring in his head. Something in him whispered about the idiocy of getting attached to a beautiful handsome man he’d never see again after the closing ceremony. The closing ceremony was only twelve days away.   
  
“Great!”   
  
The heart-shaped smile breaking over Victor’s face was way too cute.   
  
He pushed his empty food wrappers away from him.   
  
“That was disgusting. Dessert?” he asked innocently.  
  
Yuuri groaned.  
  
To Victor’s delight, Yuuri got up and ordered them both sundaes. They were sickly sweet and utterly perfect.   
  
Victor swirled around the strawberry chunks in his plastic cup with the white plastic spoon. His eyes were warm and contemplative as he studied the dessert.   
  
“This was my favourite when I was young.”  
  
Yuuri definitely understood the nostalgia associated with childhood foods. His mouth curled into a fond smile.  
  
“I loved Katsudon as a child. It’s actually still my favourite,” Yuuri admitted.  
  
“Katsudon?”  
  
He told Victor about his mum’s cooking and katsudon. He described what katusdon was in great detail; the fried pork cutlet, the gooey egg, the sticky rice and the sprinkled greens over the top to garnish.   
  
Only after he finished his description did he realise how sad it was to be so passionate about a dish of food. However, Victor soaked it up with complete enthusiasm, and jumped on his phone to look up pictures of the dish.   
  
“Wow! Amazing!”   
  
Yuuri couldn’t help but peek over his shoulder at the pictures and start pointing out what was wrong in some of the pictures. Yuuri was again struck by how devastatingly handsome and funny the other man was.   
  
In response, Victor told him snippets of what St Petersberg was like, the foods he remembered fondly from his childhood and how he’d loved the sound of seagulls and the beach. The afternoon light outside was slowly growing dimmer.  
  
Eventually, Yuuri noticed this in a lull in the conversation, and they decided to walk around the small city rather than sit in the greasy McDonalds.   
  
Yuuri’s feet crunched in the snow as they walked casually, unhurried, weaving around locals and tourists.   
  
As they chatted idly about this and that, Yuuri stayed extremely aware of how close he was standing to Victor. To suppress the urge to reach out and touch the other man, Yuuri resolutely shoved his hands deep into his pockets.   
  
The time slipped away so quickly that the dull afternoon light was almost gone by the time they caught to bus and started to head back to the athlete’s village.  
  
They arrived back at the gate, had their belongings screened and slipped through after showing their security passes to the sombre looking guards.

They both paused as they reached the spot on the path they’d met earlier in the day.   
  
The evening had set in, dark blue and icy. Bright white lights illuminated the athletes’ village like a beacon in the surrounding mountainside.   
  
“Umm…”  
  
Yuuri shuffled his feet, suddenly feeling his heart speeding up for what felt like the thousandth time that day.  
  
“Thank you… for, for today. I’m sorry if I’ve been boring you with Katsudon and other things,” Yuuri mumbled into his chest.  
  
There was no immediate response and Yuuri forced himself to look up at the other man’s face. He was surprised at what he saw there.

Victor was looking at him with his lips open in a pretty ‘o’.  
  
_So hot_ … Yuuri’s brain helpfully supplied.   
  
Victor blinked and the expression of shock was replaced with a stern expression. He placed a firm hand on Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri resisted the urge to shrink back. It felt like a dull pressure under the number of layers Yuuri had on.   
  
“Yuuri, let me tell you something” Victor said seriously, “This may sound a little strange. Sometimes, you can see someone will be interesting to talk to by looking at them. Perhaps it is a gut feeling? Or a feeling you get in your heart? Or maybe I am crazy? I have been called crazy and impulsive before.”   
  
Victor straightened, letting his hand fall away.  
  
“You’re the most interesting person I’ve spoken to in a long time,” Victor said with a strangely intense expression on his face, unconsciously brushing a stray snowflake out of his hair. “I don’t tend to have honest conversations with many people. But today, I enjoyed having some honest conversations with you.”   
  
Victor’s cheeks were dusted with pink, but was determined and didn’t look away.   
  
Yuuri swallowed.   
  
His brain was scrambling, a million different responses flickering in and out of his mind like harried butterflies.   
  
Victor gazed at him silently, almost in challenge.  
  
Finally, Yuuri forced out the only words he could find through a pounding heart.   
  
“I…I think I have an idea of what to see tomorrow if you’re interested?”   
  
Victor’s eyes lit up as Yuuri told him his idea.  
  
“Yes. I would love that.”  
  
  
  
\----  
  
  
  
It turned out that Victor actually had obligations to attend for the Russian team the next day which he’d completely forgotten about (much to his coach’s disgust). He explained it sheepishly to Yuuri over texts.   
  
**Sender: Yuuri Katsuki**  
**…Do you often forget about important meetings?**   
  
**Sender: Victor Nikiforov**  
**Yuuri!! D:  
**  
_…All the time_ Yuuri read from that.   
  
Yuuri reassured Victor it was fine and was amused when he got a string of texts all day ranging from descriptions of what Victor was doing, to long texts about how bored Victor was and how wished he could get out and explore Pyeongchang instead.   
  
They quickly agreed to meet up tomorrow when Victor confirmed with his coach that he was actually free.   
  
_Tomorrow will be ten days until the closing ceremony_ Yuuri’s mind whispered to him traitorously.   
  
Yuuri fell asleep to a final excited text from Victor.  
   
**Sender: Victor Nikiforov**  
**Goodnight, Yuuri! zzz  
See you tomorrow   
X**  
  
Yuuri really couldn’t help himself.  
  
**Sender: Yuuri Katsuki**  
**Goodnight! Don’t be late this time!!**  
  
Yuuri snorted at the reply.   
  
**Sender: Victor Nikiforov  
D: !!!  Yuuri, what are you saying?? I promise I will not be late  
  
**  
   
\---  
  
  
  
Victor was 20 minutes late.

They met at the gates of the village again. Victor smiled and waved at a distance and Yuuri’s heart flopped at the adorable gesture.   
  
“Hi Yuuri!”  
  
Victor reached him and hovered. They both hesitated, looking at each other until Yuuri coughed and looked away.   
  
“Umm…Hi,” Yuuri mumbled, cheeks flushing, “I think we go this way.”   
  
The moment broke, and they walked through the village gates.   
  
The day was even darker than the previous few days had been. Heavy dark clouds blanketed the entire sky and fresh white snow sat starkly on the nature strips.   
  
“You’re late again,” Yuuri teased as they walked along the salted footpath, weaving between tourists, athletes, locals and Olympic officials.   
  
“I know!” Victor said gleefully, “I was getting yelled at by Yakov for some reason”.

Yuuri got the strong mental image of a long-suffering coach used to his words falling on deaf ears.   
  
“Errr, does that happen a lot?”   
  
Victor waved his hand dismissively.   
  
“Sure. Sure. But Yuuri! He was suspicious because I was meeting someone!”   
  
Yuuri stared at him blankly for a moment as the words sunk in. Then his mouth dropped open in horror.   
  
“ _What?_? I don’t want to cause any trouble!”   
  
“No, no, it’s great Yuuri!”  
  
Victor’s enthusiasm could not be curbed and was a little contagious even as Yuuri stared at him wide-eyed.  
  
“It’s like… a sibling getting teased for going on a date? They are secretly happy!”  
  
Victor seemed so delighted by getting teased that Yuuri let the subject drop, although internally he questioned why.   
  
Yuuri had been able to get away from his teammates and Celestino relatively unscathed, being someone fairly private.   
  
The only note of guilt he’d felt was with Minami. The other Japanese man had been hobbling around on crutches and was obviously in a lot of pain.   
  
It was unfortunate that the injury was closer to the start of the games than the end. Not many of the Japanese athletes had a lot of spare time yet to talk to the other skater. Yuuri imagined it felt like salt in the wound when all of Minami’s interviews focused heavily on his knee and what it meant for his future.   
  
Yuuri had tried spending time with Minami. He sat next to him during the previous team dinner, which seemed to have immediately brightened the other man’s demeanour. However, Yuuri had slunk out of the Japanese section of the accommodation today without saying goodbye.   
  
_Sorry Minami-kun, I’ll make it up to you…._   
  
Victor smiled at him and Yuuri flushed, looking away.   
  
Yuuri’s idea for their outing was to catch a local bus to Daegwallyeong sheep farm. The winter Olympics website recommended it as an interesting cultural experience: apparently you could see beautiful sheep dogs running around if you were lucky. When Yuuri suggested the idea Victor had solemnly told him he hadn’t seen nearly enough dogs in South Korea so far.   
  
They walked about 15 mins to Hoenggye Intercity bus stop, deciding to be more adventurous rather than catching a taxi. Victor peered at the navigator on his phone, both of them squinting at the street signs and mispronouncing them terribly.   
  
They made it to the stop just as the bus pulled up.   
  
Victor stopped dead as he hopped on the bus and patted his pockets.   
  
_Oh no_ …. Yuuri groaned internally, stomach sinking as he realised what was about to happen.   
  
The driver gestured impatiently at the coin box at the front of the bus. Victor and he might as well have had ‘ignorant foreigners’ tattooed on their foreheads. The people lining up to get on the bus behind them shuffled impatiently.   
  
“Uhhh….” Victor grinned sheepishly at the bus driver and shrugged.   
  
He rummaged around his wallet and pulled out a ₩50,000 note when he realised the right coins were missing from his pocket.   
  
“Change?”  
  
Victor made a cutting gesture with the note.   
  
The driver’s eyes grew wide, and the shaking of his head increased frantically. Victor got an unimpressed glare and a shoo-ing motion. Someone said something sharp in Korean behind them.   
  
“Come on,” Yuuri mumbled.   
  
He tugged on Victor’s sleeve, carefully avoiding skin contact.   
  
They jumped off the bus and helplessly watched it pull away.  
  
They stared after it forlornly for a few moments. Catching the bus had seemed easy a few days ago.  
  
“Now what?” Yuuri muttered, peering at the other man out of the corner of his eye.  
  
Victor seemed to snap out of his daze and brighten again.  
  
“This way!”  
  
Victor pulled out his phone to navigate again and led them to a local convenience store, bright white against the grey sky.    
  
The clerk gave Victor a filthy look as he paid for a bottle of water with the large note. Victor gave a heart-shaped smile back, purposely playing up the ignorant foreigner role.   
  
Yuuri pressed his lips together tightly, trying to avoid smiling.   
  
They both laughed when they were back out on the street.   
  
“Twenty minutes until the next bus,” Yuuri said, squinting at his phone as he pulled up the timetable.   
  
Victor peered at his phone over his shoulder. Yuuri tensed automatically.   
  
“I like your phone case.”   
  
It was a cream case covered in different types of dogs. Yuuri’s sister had sent it to him after a Skype call years ago when Yuuri was pale and silent and clearly missing Yuuchan.   
  
“…But mine is better!”   
  
Victor’s was a custom-made phone case with a big picture of Makkachin’s face on the back. Yuuri’s mouth opened in protest.   
  
“Mine has nine different kinds of dogs on it. Yours only has one, Victor,” Yuuri said seriously, staring at him.   
  
“I only need one because Makkachin is the best dog in the world!”   
  
Yuuri snorted.   
  
“More is better.”  
  
Victor laughed, eyes bright.  
  
“Isn’t the English phrase, bigger is better?”  
  
“Eh?”  
  
“I’m pretty familiar with the phrase.”  
  
Victor winked.   
  
“ _Eh?!?”_  
  
They bickered and Victor flirted badly until the next bus arrived.   
  
The first few gentle flakes of snow had begun to drift down from the dark grey. Yuuri could see a white haze if he looked into the distance and hoped that the weather would hold.   
  
They managed to deposit the correct number of coins this time and squeezed onto the vehicle. The bus was absolutely packed. Yuuri guessed people were trying to travel before the weather got too poor.   
  
They pushed their way towards the back as much as they could. It was so crowded it was hard to see out the windows at the stops they were passing. There was a distorted recording announcing the stop names in Korean and then English. They both strained to hear the English over the noise.   
  
The bus lurched at one point and Yuuri caught Victor’s arm as he stumbled. Victor flashed him an apologetic smile. Yuuri’s hand felt warm where he’d touched the other man.   
  
The bus slowly emptied and it became easier to hear the fuzzy recording. Yuuri edged away from the other man out of politeness now that there was a little more space to move. He felt Victor’s eyes on his back.   
  
His phone GPS indicated the next stop was theirs. Yuuri managed to wind his way around another passenger to press the stop bell. They were the only ones who got off the bus.   
  
Yuuri placed his hands on his knees and hunched over for a moment when the bus pulled away.   
  
“We made it,” he huffed.   
  
He looked up. The stop seemed to be in the middle of nowhere….  
  
There was a tiny GS petrol station next to them and a small cluster of shops and cafes. It was a hilly area with patches of bare vegetation dotted between green alpine trees. Dirty snow was piled up on the sides of the roads. Everything had a distinct rural feeling to it.   
  
It was another 10 minute walk until they managed to find the farm’s entrance.   
  
Daegwallyeong sheep farm was close to empty as they approached because of the poor weather. The entire ground was covered in a thick blanket of white snow. Black trunks of trees stuck out of the snow like twisted beacons. The entire site had a pristine, beautiful quality to it, appearing almost untouched by humans.  
  
It was snowing lightly but steadily. The air was frigid and Yuuri couldn’t see any other tourists walking around at all.  
  
“Should we turn back?” asked Victor as Yuuri caught up to him, shuffling and crunching over the snow.  
  
Victor’s face was pink from the cold, even under the thick beanie and scarf he’d pulled out of his bag. He was still unfairly gorgeous.   
  
“It took a lot of effort to get here…” Yuuri said slowly, “maybe we can walk quickly?”  
  
Victor’s face split into a grin.   
  
“Great!”  
   
They bought their tickets from the small ticket office at the front and started walking down the path.   
  
A long, snaking, slushy trail had been dug out for visitors to walk around the area. It was thin and barely wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. The actual sheep had been kept away in warm sheds. They bought some animal food and fed the sheep out of little straw baskets. After they’d both washed their hands, they braved the outside.    
  
Victor kept veering towards him, almost unconsciously, causing their shoulders to brush. Yuuri swallowed.    
  
“I liked your 2012 free program,” Victor said casually, as they crunched along the path.  
  
Yuuri bit his lip, wincing.   
  
“Oh dear.”  
  
Victor ignored him.  
  
“But the jumps are so quick that I can’t pinpoint the difference between them.”   
  
It was a conversation Yuuri had had with his parents and sister many times before.    
  
He started to explain some of the differences between figure skating jumps to Victor. Victor seemed to find it fascinating and laughed as Yuuri tried to demonstrate a few on the path.  
  
“This is an axel.”  
  
Yuuri stepped ahead a few paces and demonstrated hopping from his left foot and landing facing the other way on his right foot, with a single jump.   
  
Victor clapped.   
  
“Let me try!”  
  
He tried imitating the jump. Victor was an athlete, so he pulled it off surprisingly well for someone with no experience with skating jumps. However…  
  
“You will never beat me in a competition with sloppy jumps like that,” Yuuri said seriously.  
  
Victor pouted.

“Yuuri! You are a harsh judge.”     
  
“Watch closely.”  
  
He did the jump again.   
  
“Wow, Yuuri!”  
  
Yuuri mock-bowed and straightened up.   
  
“This is a toe loop.”  
  
Yuuri hopped from his right foot, spun around once and landed back on his right foot facing the same direction. However, when he landed he skidded slightly on the slippery icy path, and Victor grabbed his arm to steady him. He didn’t miss the irony of it.   
  
“Poor execution. I’m afraid I’m going to need that silver medal back, Mr Katsuki,” Victor said imitating what Yuuri thought was supposed to be an elderly judge’s voice.  
  
For a second, ice touched Yuuri’s stomach. The conflicting feelings of inadequacy and pride and disappointment and relief and anxiety linked to his silver medal flickered in his mind. But Victor’s eyes were soft and teasing… and understanding.   
  
Yuuri snorted.   
  
“Let’s see the gold medallist do it then.”   
  
Victor’s eyes glinted with the challenge.   
  
“Like this?”  
  
Victor tried the jump. However, as he landed he slipped on the icy footpath on the same spot Yuuri had skidded and landed on his ass.   
  
Yuuri couldn’t stop the laughter that burst from him.  
  
“Poor execution. I’m DEFINITELY going to need that gold medal back, Mr Nikiforov,” he teased.   
  
Victor pouted from the ground. Yuuri laughed and offered him a hand to pull him up. Victor reached up for his hand. However, when he was close enough to touch, he grabbed Yuuri’s wrist and pulled him down so that he landed in the pile of snow just off the path.   
  
Yuuri yelped as he hit the cold pile.  
  
“ _Victor!!!_ ”  
  
Victor’s laughter rang out across the empty farm. It abruptly cut off when Yuuri threw a handful of snow at him.   
  
“That was the oldest trick in the book!”   
  
Victor’s grin was huge.  
  
“And you fell for it completely, Yuuri.”  
  
A large snowball was thrown at him. Yuuri made an indignant sound of protest as it clipped his shoulder.   
  
That dissolved into throwing snow at each other competitively and laughing like idiots.  
  
“Enough!” Yuuri begged when he started to feel completely wet and frozen.   
  
Victor held up his hands in surrender.  
  
“Ok, ok. Perhaps it’s time to head back? We can see sheep dogs another time.”   
  
Yuuri nodded.   
  
He was sure they both knew there wouldn’t be another time but kept quiet.   
  
Wet and flushed, they trudged back to the start of the path, past the ticket booth and exited the farm. They eventually made it back out to the bus stop.   
  
A few of the other tourists wrapped in thick coats, gloves and scarves eyed them suspiciously. One older woman even shook her head at them.   
  
The bus pulled up 5 minutes later.   
  
A strong sense of déjà vu hit Yuuri as Victor hopped on to the bus with a bright smile.   
  
The bus driver gestured to their wet clothes in a horrified manner, shaking his head and making a cross symbol with his hands. He said something crossly in Korean and they were given a shoo-ing motion for the second time that day.   
  
For the second time, they watched the bus drive off with forlorn expression.    
  
They looked at each other for a moment.  
  
“Taxi?”  
  
“Taxi.”  
  
Yuuri was freezing wet and shivering by the time they trudged to a taxi rank. Victor seemed to cope with the cold by babbling mindlessly beside him about anything and everything that came to mind. At least their clothes seemed to be marginally drier by the time they found a taxi (dry enough that the taxi driver gave them a dubious look but still let them into his car).   
  
“Yuuuuuuuuri,” Victor whined, once they’d settled into the back of the gloriously heated car.

Yuuri gave him an exasperated look.   
  
“Yes?”  
  
“Yuuuuuuriiiiiiiii, my feet are sore.”  
  
Yuuri smiled.  
  
“Aren’t you supposed to be a professional athlete?” he teased.  
  
“I already won my gold; I’m allowed to whine about my aches now!” Victor shot back.  
  
The retort hit Yuuri surprisingly hard. It was a little too real.  
  
They both blinked at each other in surprise. A subtle understanding passed between them and Yuuri looked away.   
  
Yuuri had learnt quickly once he’d started skating professionally that there was so much emphasis on carrying the dreams of your country and pushing yourself to be your best… it didn’t leave much room for being human.   
  
The moment left them both quiet and contemplative for the rest of the taxi ride back to the village as the light of the day slowly dimmed.

Anxiety slowly bloomed in Yuuri’s stomach as they got closer and closer to their destination.   
  
He’d told Celestino he would be back hours earlier. He was late to the team dinner and abhorred being impolite.   
  
Victor insisted on paying for the taxi despite Yuuri’s protests.   
  
Realising he wasn’t going to win the fight, Yuuri jumped out of the car quickly.   
  
Yuuri passed through the village gates hurriedly after being scanned by security, just as the sun winked over the horizon and darkness started truly setting in.   
  
He turned around to say an abrupt goodbye to Victor, possibly in addition to an apology for ever suggesting the idea of taking the bus to the sheep dog farm.  
  
“Wait, Yuuri!”  
  
Victor caught his arm before Yuuri could dash off.   
  
Yuuri paused and stopped. Then he realised he was being extremely impolite by rushing off without saying a proper goodbye to Victor. Yuuri swallowed and turned around to face the other man fully.  
  
He took a deep breath.   
  
“Sorry.”  
  
Yuuri waited for Victor to speak again but several moments passed in silence as they stared at each other.  
  
It gave Yuuri another chance to recognise how devastatingly attractive the other man was. Victor’s hair framed his face perfectly… his eyes were _so_ blue. Yuuri’s eyes flicked down involuntarily to his lips and the word _want_ sprang to mind.   
  
He forced his eyes back up to the other man’s.   
  
“Victor?” he asked softly.  
  
_Kiss him!_ His brain screamed unhelpfully. He crushed down the thought as hard as he could.   
  
Victor seemed to start.  
  
“Ahh, it was nothing.”   
  
Victor’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.   
  
“Have a good night.”  
  
Yuuri hesitated.  
  
“Ok…. You too, Victor”  
  
He turned around again slowly, half expecting the other to call him back again. When he didn’t hear anything, he started walking and waved over his shoulder at the other man.   
  
Yuuri’s stomach dropped as Victor waved half-heartedly back.  
  
  
  
\----  
  
  
  
They were both busy the entire next day. Victor sporadically texted him again about anything and everything. Yuuri refused to pine, trying to kill the little thrill he felt each time his phone buzzed.  
  
The day after that Yuuri had interviews again, a photoshoot, went for a run, had a long Skype call with his family, and concluded the day with a team dinner. Although he tried his hardest not to, he inevitably drew attention to himself when he left the team dinner early to meet Victor.   
  
“Where are you going, Yuuri?” Minami asked curiously, eyes huge and shining when Yuuri tried to slip away. Several whispers and sniggers broke out around the table. Yuuri felt the tips of his ears burning.  
  
“Ahh…”  
  
Yuuri didn’t want to outright lie, knowing it would look horrible that he was abandoning his teammate if someone noticed him and Victor later on. He also didn’t want to say the whole truth either. He was already getting enough attention for the silver medal stuffed in his room safe.   
  
“I’m meeting someone and going to the cultural markets,” he said instead.   
  
Someone whistled.   
  
Minami looked confused and… a little upset?  
  
“Meeting someone?”  
  
Yuuri nodded, jaw clenched.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Minami nodded, but his normal bubbly persona seemed to disappear a little.   
  
Yuuri wasn’t sure what to do except politely excuse himself from the table and run back to his room to get ready.   
  
Victor was already waiting for him as Yuuri jogged out to meet him at the gate. Although they didn’t touch, Victor smiled at him and they fell into step beside each other.   
  
Yuuri silently marvelled at the weirdly comfortable gesture, like something someone would do with a person they knew really well.   
  
_Eight days_ _until the closing ceremony_ his mind whispered at him.   
  
“You’re on time today,” Yuuri teased. “What did you do with the normal Victor?”  
  
Victor rolled his eyes.  
  
“Always so harsh, Yuuri,” he said in mock-hurt, clutching his chest.   
  
It was a short walk to the cultural markets and already the streets were packed in the early evening.   
  
Beautiful golden lanterns softly lit the streets and the area was filled with interesting smells and stalls. There were tourists and locals absolutely everywhere. Buskers were performing traditional Korean songs on the sides of the road. It was loud and vibrant.  
  
They paused at one of the stalls selling plush toys and Yuuri bought something for the triplets.

A little further down was a wooden stall with an enthusiastic man, cheeks red as apples, selling locally brewed beer. The line was quite long but it ended up being worth the wait.   
  
They both ended up with a cup in one hand and chatted as they skilfully weaved through the stalls and people. As the alcohol hit his bloodstream, Yuuri felt the anxious knot he always carried with him loosen a little. He smiled at Victor who seemed to flush strangely in response.   
  
A delicious smell wafted from one cart and a small crowd milled around it. They both naturally gravitated towards it.   
  
Victor downed his drink quickly, handing Yuuri his empty cup and bought two greasy chicken skewers with thick brown sauce and mayonnaise smothered on each piece. The skewer was extremely messy and Yuuri couldn’t help but be amused at Victor who pouted at the food as he tried, and failed, to eat it gracefully. Victor laughed at him unapologetically as Yuuri did exactly the same thing moments later and managed to lose a piece of chicken off the skewer to the ground below.

Unbidden, an image sprang into Yuuri’s mind of licking up the sauce dripping down Victor’s fingers even as he mock-glared at the other.   
  
He crushed down that thought as hard as he could.   
  
Once they’d both cleaned up a little, Yuuri turned to the other man.   
  
“Is this what you do for fun in St Petersberg? I’ve heard there are some beautiful markets there,” Yuuri asked curiously, hoping his cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.   
  
Victor frowned.   
  
“I… don’t have much spare time when I’m training”   
  
“Oh….”  
  
Yuuri wracked his brains, trying to think what to say next. They started walking again as they wiped their sticky fingers on serviettes and Victor gave their skewers back to the vendor.   
  
“What does training look like for you?”  
  
“Hmmm…”  
  
Victor pressed a finger to his lips.  
  
“In winter, Yakov normally trains us on the snow. Often, our team will travel to Sochi to train. In summer, occasionally we will even travel to the Southern hemisphere to train on snow. New Zealand is beautiful.”  
  
Yuuri nodded.   
  
“But normally in summer we train in a swimming pool.”  
  
Victor smiled at Yuuri’s questioning look.  
  
“It looks quite novel. We have a water ramp we practise on. We complete the jump off the ramp and then land in the water.”   
  
Victor’s eyes slid away. He looked tired suddenly.   
  
“Then, of course there is the normal core and strength training, gymnastics, trampolines and acrobatics. Plus the sponsorship meetings, interviews, photoshoots and other obligations.”   
  
Victor turned back to him. Somehow, his smile looked a little strained.  
  
“An exciting life, no?”  
  
Yuuri frowned.  
  
“Ahh. It sounds exhausting.”  
  
 Yuuri scratched the back of his neck and chuckled awkwardly. Stupid nervous habit.   
  
“I guess I can’t comment. My schedule isn’t much better.”  
  
Victor looked intrigued.   
  
“Oh?”  
  
“Umm… Hours on the ice. Obviously. Um. Probably too many hours.”  
  
Yuuri winced. He wasn’t trying to make Victor pity him or anything.  
  
“Then off-ice training for physical conditioning. Walk-throughs of my routines, strength training, cardio, pilates or yoga to keep flexible. I do ballet training with a family friend too… ”  
  
Yuuri was staring at his feet now.   
  
“Travel and interviews for competitions. Sponsorships meetings. That’s about it.”  
  
Yuuri glanced at the other man out of the corner of his eyes. The other man was smirking.   
  
“Oh, is that all?”   
  
“Shut up,” Yuuri mumbled, cheeks going pink.   
  
They passed stalls with beautifully carved lacquer chests and boxes, a stall with traditional Korean fans, stalls with traditional Korean clothing, stalls with modern Korean clothing (k-pop artists on socks and t-shirts), and stalls with ‘I <3 Korea’ and ‘I <3 Pheochang’ and ‘I <3 Olympics’ merchandise.    
  
Yuuri squinted at one of the K-pop t-shirts, trying to remember if the man on it was the one Mari had had a crush on for ages. He had several piercings on his ears, similar to Mari’s.   
  
“I think my sister used to be obsessed with this person,” Yuuri explained, pointing to the t-shirt. “She used to sing his songs terribly as she cleaned the hot-spring until some of the guests started complaining.”  
  
The vendor immediately swooped in, and Yuuri bought the t-shirt without protest.  
  
Victor laughed.   
  
“What else does your sister like?”  
  
Yuuri told Victor about his immediate family, what they did around the hot spring, what they liked, how Mari used to be horribly annoying as a sibling and how they used to fight over which chores they did as kids. Even though it was one of the simplest chores, Yuuri always hated shovelling snow during winter. Mari always seemed to worm her way out of it and end up washing towels in the warm laundry.   
  
“What about your family?” Yuuri asked. “What do they do?”  
  
Victor had a complicated look on his face.   
  
“My father is French,” he explained, “I can speak French fluently, as well as Russian and English. He also did some freestyle skiing, although never to the same level as me. It’s how he met my mother in Russia.”  
  
“Wow… a family of skiers,” Yuuri said, a little awed.   
  
“They saw talent in me very early. It’s why I was pushed so hard for so many years, and introduced to my coach Yakov. They are both retired in France now. I don’t really see them very much.”   
  
It didn’t sound like a topic Victor was particularly fond of talking about. Yuuri tried to steer the conversation away.   
  
“I showed you some skating jumps. But you still haven’t shown me any jumps in skiing,” Yuuri pointed out.  
  
“Hmm!”  
  
Victor tapped a finger to his lips.  
  
“That is true. I might not be able to show you right now…”   
  
His eyes were laughing. He was so _so_ beautiful.  
  
“…But perhaps I can describe them? Or no! Show you some clips?”  
  
Victor’s phone was yanked unceremoniously out of his pocket.  
  
“There are four basic components to your score in aerial skiing,” Victor explained. “The jump take-off, the jump form, the jump landing and a degree of difficulty factor.”   
  
He pulled up YouTube on his phone and scrolled with his thumb.  
  
“Hmm. Oh! This is a pike.”  
  
Yuuri watched the video in interest.   
  
“It is fast. But you can see the body is bending at the waist but the legs are still straight?”  
  
Yuuri hummed in acknowledgement. Victor scrolled again.  
  
“Here. This person is doing a front somersault.”   
  
Victor frowned at the video.  
  
“Very sloppy. If I was his coach I would be telling him to…”  
  
Yuuri smiled in exasperation as Victor shredded the poor guy to pieces in the video. Somehow Victor steered them through the crowds of the market without bumping into a single person while his nose was still buried in his phone.   
  
Yuuri was shown clips of halfs, knolls, pucks, rudys, tucks and twists, often with Victor pointing out exactly what was wrong with the technique of each skier.   
  
Victor tutted as one skier took off from their jump but landed poorly because their rotation was too fast and uncontrolled.   
  
“That’s called a sling,” Victor explained. “Her arms were thrown back too quickly from the take-off.”  
  
Yuuri’s earlier suspicions of Victor being perfect coach material were confirmed.   
  
As he learnt more about the jumps, Yuuri was amused by some of the overlapping terminology with skating.   
  
“Quads in skating are much harder,” he teased, after Victor showed him a clip of himself completing it flawlessly. “You have so much time to pull yours off.”  
  
Victor looked at him slyly.   
  
“ _You_ only do one jump at a time. I fit 3 flips and 5 twists into _my_ jumps.”  
  
Eventually, Victor put his phone away and they did a slow circle around the markets, buying small bits and pieces as they went. They ended up back at the beer stall for a second beer, and quickly the time slipped by.   
  
It was only once the stalls started packing up around midnight that they both looked at each other sheepishly and started meandering back to the village.   
  
On the walk back, Yuuri described a few of the tourist attractions he’d already seen while in Korea  with his friend Phichit last time they were there.   
  
As always, they flashed their security passes to the severe looking guards, were scanned, and passed through. For once, the village was almost silent. Their footsteps seemed loud in the chilly night air.   
  
They came to a halt under the alcove of Yuuri’s building.   
  
It was abandoned and quiet.   
  
Suddenly, Yuuri’s heart was pounding in his chest.   
  
“Thanks for tonight. It’s pretty cold. I… I should get inside,” Yuuri mumbled, staring at his shuffling feet.   
  
“Me too,” Victor said softly.   
  
Yuuri didn’t look up. He took a tentative step back, then another. Then he was turning around and walking back into the foyer of his building. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Victor stand completely still for a few moments before turning around and walking on the path towards his own building.   
  
Yuuri’s brain immediately protested.   
  
Maybe it was because he’d had two beers, or maybe because Victor had looked like he didn’t want to call it a night…   
  
_What are you doing???_ His brain screamed, _You’re letting the most beautiful man in the world walk away again…._   
  
A few minutes later, the door to his room clicked closed, and Yuuri sat at the small table of his tiny  living room/kitchenette, staring at the wall blankly.   
  
…  
  
What the hell was he doing?  
  
“You’re playing with fire,” he whispered to himself, “that’s what you’re doing”.   
  
Anxious thoughts swirled around in his mind.   
  
This couldn’t end well. There was nothing about this situation that could end well.   
  
Victor was everything a person could want. He was successful, athletic and gorgeous. He was also funny and kind and silly and smart.   
  
And completely out of Yuuri’s league.   
  
Yuuri let himself slump forward, forehead hitting the table with a dull thunk.   
  
“Stupid. Brain. Please. Stop. Wanting. Victor.” he said between gritted teeth, thunking his forehead down on the table between each word.   
  
Yuuri let his head slip to the side, pressing his right ear to the hard surface of the table. He stared blankly at the wall facing him.   
  
“Stupid Victor. Why does he have to be so attractive and nice?” he mumbled.   
  
His phone, which he’d placed face down on the table in front of him, suddenly buzzed into life, making Yuuri almost jump out of his skin.  
  
With a pounding heart, he turned it over.  
  
**Caller: Victor Nikiforov  
**  
Yuuri stared at the device and let it go to voicemail.  
  
…  
  
Why was Victor calling?  
  
…  
  
_You know why_ his brain whispered gleefully.  
  
…  
  
Would it really be that bad to give in?   
  
“You’ll get hurt,” he whispered to himself.  
  
He was already hurting by pining like this. He wanted this, he wanted it so badly. It was killing him spending time with Victor, getting to know him and laughing with him and not being able to touch him.   
  
“You’ll regret it afterwards,” he murmured.   
  
_You’ll regret not living life if you keep being like this. You’ll regret not taking a chance, even if it ends in heartbreak_ his brain whispered…  
  
“Your hair is messy” he protested weakly, resolve crumbling around him.  
  
…  
  
_Really, Yuuri?_ His brain rebuked.   
  
His phone buzzed again.   
   
**Caller: Victor Nikiforov  
**  
Yuuri snatched the phone up from the table.   
  
Heart-pounding, he stood and picked up.  
  
“Yuuri?”  
  
“Please meet me outside my building,” Yuuri said breathlessly, already striding towards his door before he hung up abruptly.   
  
Yuuri skipped the elevator, taking the stairs down to the ground floor two at a time. Suddenly, he felt full of energy.

Yuuri burst through the doors into the frigid night air and saw Victor striding back to his building. It didn’t look like Victor had even bothered taking off his coat since they’d parted. Yuuri jogged towards him.   
  
As always, he was completely stunning. Cheeks a little flushed, platinum blonde hair beautifully tussled and eyes turquoise blue. Victor started to speak as he they got within arm’s distance of one another.   
  
“Yuuri, what – ?”   
  
He kissed Victor.  
  
Yuuri wasn’t sure whether it lasted several seconds or several minutes. However, strong hands landed on his shoulders and pushed him back.   
  
Yuuri’s eyes snapped open. For one horrible moment, he thought he’d made a terrible mistake.   
  
Victor was breathing harshly, cheeks pink.   
  
They stared at each other.   
  
It wasn’t a mistake.   
  
They collided, tangling together and kissing desperately.   
  
They quickly stumbled back to a hidden alcove, shadows covering them.   
  
Victor took two steps forward, pinning Yuuri to the wall behind him. Yuuri wound both his hands up and hooked them around the back of Victor’s neck, pulling him even closer, fingers tangling into the short hairs at the nape of his neck.   
  
Victor made a noise which sounded like a muffled growl and then they were kissing open-mouthed, tongues brushing. Yuuri fell apart, welcoming Victor’s tongue into his mouth.   
  
Victor shifted the angle of the kiss slightly, pushing forward again with his lips. His nose brushed Yuuri’s cheek as he did so, bumping Yuuri’s glasses up his nose. Yuuri pulled away from the kiss to whip them off, stuffing them hastily into his coat pocket. Then Victor was cupping his cheeks with both hands and kissing him passionately again, tongue slipping out to meet his. Yuuri couldn’t help but cup the back of Victor’s head in response, even though they were already pressed impossibly close to one another.   
  
Yuuri pulled away momentarily to catch his breath and caught sight of Victor’s mouth.  
  
It was red and wet from their kiss and Yuuri groaned. _Want_ surged through him like lightning. Victor smirked and Yuuri couldn’t stop himself from surging forward and pressing his mouth against the smirk again.   
  
They kissed wetly, urgently, with mouths open.  
  
The sound of distant giggling in the otherwise quiet courtyard was the thing which broke them apart eventually, both breathing heavily.   
  
_God_ , if Yuuri wasn’t already painfully hard, the dark hungry look in Victor’s eyes would have set him on fire.   
  
“Yuuri…” Victor kissed him softly again with short sweet pecks on his lips; once, twice, three, four times…  
  
Yuuri surprised them both.   
  
“Come to my room with me.”   
  
Yuuri was well aware of the culture in the Olympic village. He knew there was a reason 150,000 condoms had been ordered for the games. However, he’d never pictured himself as the type of person to need them.   
  
Apparently Yuuri’s understanding of himself was completely inaccurate, as Victor swooped in and tucked his mouth in the junction between Yuuri’s neck and jaw.  
  
“Are. You. Sure?” Victor whispered, even as he dotted open-mouthed kisses up the skin between each word. It tickled a little.  
  
Yuuri pushed him back so they could look each other in the eye.   
  
He gave the other man a dark look.   
  
“ _Fuck,_ ” Victor growled, kissing him again.   
  
Neither of them needed to ask twice.   
  
  
  
\----  
  
  
  
  
_I have never been so grateful for a teammate being injured_ Yuuri thought vaguely.   
  
The elevator ride up to his room was a haze of kisses. As soon as the doors closed, they were on each other. Neither of them seemed to be able to stop touching the other.   
  
As the door dinged open, Yuuri prayed that none of his teammates were in the corridor. Both of their kiss-swollen lips would give them away instantly. They disentangled quickly. Yuuri patted down his hair and Victor straightened his coat as they stepped out of the elevator into the corridor. They held the door open for someone who was just rounding the corner to get to the elevator (Yuuri saw a flash of a flag on his sleeve… Austrian maybe?) before they hurried down the hall.   
  
As soon as they were inside Yuuri’s room, with the door locked and condoms and lube from the reception desk sitting on the bedside table, they began tearing each other’s clothes off.

Yuuri pushed Victor’s jacket off his broad shoulders and kissed him, pushing him backwards towards the bed. Victor’s legs bumped against the bed and Victor roughly worked the buttons of his own shirt whilst kissing Yuuri. He got to the bottom, pulled back from their kiss for a second, tore his own shirt off and then cupped Yuuri’s jaw and pulled him in for another kiss, mouth opening eagerly.

Yuuri’s shirt, shoes and pants followed not long after between desperate kisses. He was left in just his briefs and socks.

He had a short but strong moment of self-consciousness as Victor practically ripped himself out of his own shoes, socks and pants. He was standing next to the sexiest man he’d ever met and Yuuri was fairly certain he was just average in comparison to whoever Victor had had in the past…   
  
However, the thought was fleeting when Victor looked at him with such hungry eyes. _  
  
_ Yuuri’s mouth felt dry as Victor stepped back in only his black underwear, a hard bulge clearly outlining his cock.

Deliberately, Victor glanced behind him, sat down on the bed and spread his muscled legs wide, giving Yuuri a view.

The man was gorgeous. He was flushed, sweaty and kiss-bitten. Victor’s toned stomach ended in a strong ‘V’ leading to thick thighs that Yuuri wanted to kiss, tease and bite all night.   
  
Yuuri sat down on the bed next to Victor and was immediately pulled into another kiss. Yuuri’s lips were tingling as Victor pressed a wet kiss to the left corner of his mouth. A kiss to his upper lip. A kiss to his lower lip. A kiss to the right corner of his mouth…  
  
Yuuri smiled into the hot kisses and pulled Victor down so they were lying side-by-side on the bed. Yuuri was immediately pulled flush against the other man. One arm was somewhat pinned against his body. The other arm wound tightly around Victor, pressing over the muscled back and ass.

Yuuri couldn’t help but dance his fingers lower and lower as Victor’s tongue explored his mouth, index finger pressing into the base of Victor’s spine, teasing the point where it became the top of Victor’s underwear and ass and then back up again.   
  
Victor pulled Yuuri’s hips against his, hard.   
  
“You’ve still got clothes on. This isn’t fair,” Victor gasped.

He rolled them over and Yuuri was pinned down again, flush against Victor’s body. Yuuri was wild for the way Victor then rolled his hips against Yuuri’s abdomen. His hands slid down to cup Victor’s ass, fingers digging in, and he pulled the other man’s hips to grind against him again. And again. And again. And again. And again.  
  
Sweat prickled the back of Yuuri’s neck. His whole body was on fire. He was panting and whining. He couldn’t get enough of the other man. From the sounds Victor was making, he felt the same way.   
  
A hot mouth and teeth skimmed a line down Yuuri’s throat. A rough bite was placed possessively just above the junction between his neck and shoulder. Yuuri choked, arching.  
  
Victor pulled back and reached to peel Yuuri’s socks off.   
  
A moment of panic shot through Yuuri like lightning from his head to his toes.   
  
“Wait!”  
  
His hand clamped on Victor’s wrist like a vice and the other man looked at him in surprise. Victor immediately backed off, releasing the elastic of his socks.  
  
“Ahh…”   
  
Yuuri’s cheeks burned red.   
  
“Sorry. I didn’t want to panic you. I….”  
  
He bit his lip and pushed out the words, given how worried the other man looked.  
  
“My feet are…. not pleasant to look at.   
  
Yuuri’s brain clapped at him.   
  
_Of all the things to get self-conscious about, you get most self-conscious about your feet??_ _Well done for being the strangest person on the planet, Yuuri…._  
  
“Oh.”   
  
Victor looked surprised but also… understanding? Yuuri could have cried from the understanding look on the others face.  
  
“So keeping your socks on?”  
  
Yuuri felt ridiculous.   
  
“Yes, please.”  
  
Victor nodded like it was a completely normal thing to ask.

The pace changed suddenly to something gentler.  
  
Victor ducked down and gently took hold of Yuuri’s left ankle, lifting the leg. He then angled it slightly to the side and dotted kisses all the way up the back of his calf and finished by planting a big wet kiss on the underside of Yuuri’s knee.   
  
If they were keeping on his socks, this left Yuuri with only his briefs to be taken off.

There was a moment of sweetness when Victor deliberately looked up and made eye contact with Yuuri before reaching very slowly for the waistband of his black briefs. Victor’s fingers curled under the elastic on either side of Yuuri’s hips. He paused giving Yuuri time to protest. No protest came. Victor then leaned down, bumping his nose against his fingers on the right side of Yuuri’s hip as he slowly pulled the material down. He trailed hot kisses down each centimetre of new skin revealed. Victor’s gaze didn’t stray upwards once.   
  
His lips slowly chased the underwear he was pulling down, from Yuuri’s hip all the way down to where Yuuri’s sock started. Once he reached the socks, he still didn’t look up and gently lifted Yuuri’s right foot, pulling the material off and placing the foot back down. He then repeated the process with his left foot. It was an act of reverence that set Yuuri’s heart thumping wildly.   
  
Without looking up still, Victor hooked his thumbs either side of his own underwear and pulled it down, inch by inch. Yuuri bit his lip as the man was left naked in front of him.

Only then, did Victor look up and take him fully in, eyes widening.  
  
They both paused for a moment.

“… woah.”  
  
“Wow!”  
  
They stared at each other.   
  
“ _Fuck._ Ok.” Victor said breathlessly, sweeping his hair back with one hand over his head.

“What would you like to do? Do you like to top or bottom?”  
  
At any other time Yuuri might have been shocked by the bluntness.   
  
“Don’t care,” Yuuri mumbled, eyes still drinking in every inch of the other man. “Anything. Either. I like both.”  
  
Victor made a thoughtful face and rolled off him to reach for the lube and condoms they’d grabbed.   
  
Yuuri’s thoughts ran away with him as they prepared. He thought he might have imagined it when Victor whispered into his hair “You are incredible, Yuuri.”   
  
Yuuri’s thoughts scattered like a bowl of dropped marbles as they positioned themselves and Victor sunk down on him.   
  
They started slowly, getting used to the feel of each other.   
  
Yuuri trailed his fingertips up from Victor’s bellybutton to the centre of his chest in wonder. There was another moment of sweetness, as Victor captured the hand and pressed a gentle kiss to each of his finger pads. Yuuri knew the gesture was probably too intimate for something like this, but he couldn’t help but trace the thumb which had just been kissed over one of Victor’s flushed cheeks softly, sweeping back the hair which was falling over it. Victor smiled and nipped at his thumb cheekily, shifting the mood back to something more passionate.   
  
They transitioned into a hot, heady grind. He was slick with sweat, bruises and bite marks singing with each heartbeat, lips swollen and wet as Victor rode him hard, with his head thrown back and hands on both of Yuuri’s knees, growling like he couldn’t get enough. Droplets of sweat trailed down the lines of Victor’s neck and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he groaned.

Yuuri was tempted to lick the droplets up but didn’t want to change their position. Instead he licked his palm and reached over to where Victor’s cock was bobbing obscenely between them, head peeking out of the foreskin. Yuuri made Victor fuck into his fist as he rode him, rolling the foreskin up and down. Victor rose up a bit higher each time so that he bounced down onto Yuuri harder. Yuuri was wild for the way Victor’s masculine thighs bulged at the work. They were both panting harshly like they were running a marathon.   
  
_He is so beautiful_ … fluttered through Yuuri’s mind, _so so beautiful_.   
  
Victor shifted the angle he was bouncing down on slightly and suddenly started riding him rougher and wilder than before, his growling increasing. Two thrusts later he suddenly curled forward, hands flying to Yuuri’s shoulders as he pressed his forehead against Yuuri’s.   
  
Victor jerked. His mouth dropped open, breathing too harshly to form words. He came over Yuuri’s hand and chest. One hot spurt splattered onto Yuuri’s left nipple.   
  
Victor then collapsed, slumped against him for a few moments to recover, sweaty and boneless. Then the man huffed a breathless laugh and sat up to observe the mess he’d made. Victor looked completely ruined. It didn’t stop him, though, from smirking deviously and reaching down to rub rough circles with his thumb on Yuuri’s sticky nipple.   
  
Sound caught in Yuuri’s throat as Victor started riding him again while pinching his nipple.

A few thrusts later, Yuuri slammed into the most powerful orgasm of his entire life, gasping through it helplessly with his jaw dropped open and his eyes screwed shut at the intensity.   
  
Yuuri slowly opened his eyes again a minute later as he caught his breath. Victor huffed another laugh.  
  
He reached down underneath him and pinched the base of the condom to keep it in place as he eased off Yuuri.  
  
Yuuri experienced a brief moment of fear as Victor rolled off him and stood up, wondering if Victor was going to flee back to his own room. However, the thought didn’t even seem to cross the other man’s mind.

They cleaned up, disposed of the condom and Victor came back to bed. He snuggled up close to Yuuri.   
  
It wasn’t long before Victor started snoring loudly, head curled up on Yuuri’s chest. Yuuri’s heart thudded painfully loudly.   
  
He took a moment to breathe in deeply, careful not to jostle Victor’s head.   
  
Then he stared up at the ceiling, wondering at the amazingness of life.   
  
  
  
\----  
  
  
  
Victor was busy with interviews and Russian team events the next day.   
  
_Six days_ his mind whispered.   
  
Instead, they agreed to meet up and go out drinking in the evening.   
  
Yuuri stood at the entrance to the village, waiting for the other man. The sun was setting, casting a brilliant orange streak across the sky, made even brighter by the dark-grey clouds gathering on the horizon. It was freezing cold, so Yuuri’s breaths puffed out in white clouds in front of him, but there was a peaceful feel to the air, similar to the feeling he got when the sun peeked out from behind the clouds after a torrential downpour. Bird calls in the dying evening light gave everything a calm, peaceful feeling.   
  
A few giggling athletes passed through the front entrance gates on their way out for the evening. More sombre looking coaches and officials also passed him. No-one bothered sparing him a glance, for which Yuuri was grateful. Tensions and emotions were still running high for many in the village. Yuuri was thankful that his event had ran so early.   
  
Finally, in the distance he saw a tall, lithe figure which could only be Victor.   
  
For someone who had been champion for so many years, who must have been through hundreds of interviews, Victor looked surprisingly weary.   
  
“I missed you,” Victor mumbled, wrapping Yuuri immediately into a tight hug as soon as he was close enough to touch. Yuuri stiffened automatically at the unexpected contact and then relaxed, wrapping his arms around Victor’s back in return.   
  
“You saw me this morning!” Yuuri protested, although he was secretly pleased by the reception.   
  
He had worried there would be some awkwardness after last night… or the other man might have lost interest in him altogether. It was completely possible. Neither of them had exactly talked about expectations.   
  
Something cold touched his stomach when he thought about that as the other man squeezed him tightly.

When they’d woken up in the morning, Victor had glanced sleepily at his phone and seen a message from Yakov saying the interview times had been pushed earlier. It meant Victor was already late, and he’d had to rush out the door straight away, tossing apologies over his shoulder. A few hours later, Yuuri had received the text from Victor arranging tonight. It made Yuuri happy….. too happy for someone who was supposedly having a casual fling.  
  
_You’re getting too attached_ his mind whispered to him. A _ll of this is going to end when the Olympics finish_.   
  
The touch of fear made Yuuri bury his face deeper into Victor’s neck.   
  
…. Should he stop trying to see Victor before they both got hurt? Or more likely, before Yuuri got hurt. Victor was so achingly beautiful that Yuuri was positive he’d find someone else happy to take Yuuri’s place immediately after the games. However, even the thought of trying to ignore the other man felt wrong, like icicles in Yuuri’s belly. It wasn’t Victor’s fault Yuuri was lonely and had over-attachment issues.   
  
He really was doomed.   
  
“How were your interviews?” Yuuri asked, as Victor reluctantly let him go. Yuuri noticed the other man didn’t step far back, as if any distance between them would physically pain him. It was like some kind of personal space barrier had been completely obliterated between them now after the previous night.   
  
Victor made a smile which didn’t reach his eyes.   
  
“They went well, thank you for asking.”  
  
Yuuri couldn’t stand the coldness in his eyes. He tentatively reached over and curled his hand into Victor’s. The other man looked surprised, cheeks going pink.   
  
“Ahh… sorry. You probably don’t want to talk about them after a long day. I’ve never gotten used to interviews,” Yuuri admitted, shoving his other gloved hand deep into his pocket.   
  
The other man was looking at him in silence. Yuuri couldn’t quite decipher what his expression meant.   
  
“Ahh… is this ok?” he asked awkwardly, gesturing to where he was holding Victor’s hand. Victor’s hand tightened over his own.   
  
“I think I’m too used to them,” Victor said with a sad smile.   
  
“Huh?”  
  
“Interviews, they’re not when I act most genuine… ”  
  
“Oh.”  
  
They stared at each other, searching each other’s eyes for the gaps they weren’t filling with words.  
  
Eventually, Victor chuckled and squeezed Yuuri’s hand.  
  
“Come on, Yuuri. Let’s go find this place.”  
  
Yuuri blinked, feeling like he’d missed something.  
  
“Ok.”  
  
They ended up at the only nightclub anywhere near Pyeongchang, which was about a 20-minute taxi drive outside of the area. Before they entered the club, Yuuri carefully tucked his glasses away in his pocket.   
  
Once they were inside, Victor showed him how to do vodka shots the proper Russian way. Victor seemed to be in an impulsive and edgy mood. Although the other man didn’t say anything, Yuuri knew it had something to do with the interviews he’d done earlier that day. Victor insisted they did 3 shots in quick succession, followed by a chaser of beer. They stared each other down as they did the shots, neither breaking eye contact. It seemed like now the tension between them had broken, neither was holding anything back.   
  
In addition to the heat of the venue, Yuuri could feel the flush he always got when drinking creep up onto his face. They didn’t say much to each other, but the backs of their hands brushed against one other more and more as the alcohol started to really hit Yuuri. Tipsy, he dragged Victor onto the dance floor before the other could insist on another drink.   
  
A K-pop song with throbbing bass notes was pumping through the speakers. The dim red light and flashing lasers gave the club a sense of anonymity that many people were taking advantage of. Speech was impossible unless you yelled closely into someone’s ear. The place was full of foreigners, evidenced by the fact that some English and Chinese songs with throbbing beats were being played sporadically between Korean songs. No-one questioned a drunk interracial couple with their hands all over each other.   
  
There was no space for real dancing. Instead, it was a mass of people grinding against each other on the packed dance floor. Victor and Yuuri pushed into the throng of people and once they’d found an anonymous spot in the middle of the crowd, immediately pressed together. Yuuri’s hands were grasping at Victor’s hips and his teeth were teasing Victor’s neck. Victor’s hands snuck down and suddenly Yuuri was being pulled even closer to him by two firm hands on his ass. The hands didn’t move from his ass. Instead they squeezed tighter, grinding their hips together with the pounding beat of the music.    
  
And Yuuri was drunk enough not to question the words that he whispered into Victor’s ear.   
  
“I want you to scream my name tonight. I want the entire village to know you’re mine, Victor.”   
  
One of the hands left his ass and pressed a firm line up his lower back, his upper back, his neck and then cupped the back of his head, tangling into his hair. The fingers tightened and his head was wrenched back.   
  
Yuuri gasped, growing harder against Victor’s stomach.  
  
Hot teeth smiled against his neck and then bit into the sweaty skin there. Hungry lips sucked a dark bruise into the pale skin. It stung a bit and Yuuri ground harder into the other man’s hips. He could feel a matching hardness pressing into his own hip.   
  
“Another” Yuuri begged, hands jumping from Victor’s hips to cradle his head and press the teeth harder to his neck.   
  
“I’m going to cover you in so many marks no one will ever doubt you’re mine,” was the possessive, growled reply.   
  
They didn’t last long in the club after that.  
  
The door slammed as they made it back to Yuuri’s room after a hasty taxi ride back and another trip to the reception area to pick up condoms. The receptionist looked like nothing surprised him at this point in the games.   
  
As soon as Yuuri’s door was closed, Victor shrugged out of his thick coat and raised his arms. Yuuri helped pull the shirt and undershirt up and over the other man’s head.  
  
Then Victor was stepping forwards and Yuuri was pushed back against the door. Yuuri groaned in appreciation before his lips were captured in an impassioned kiss. They kissed wetly and fervently, as Yuuri’s fingers jerkily worked at Victor’s belt and jean buttons.    
  
Just as Yuuri had pulled down Victor’s fly, Victor pulled back slightly and bit Yuuri’s bottom lip, teasingly.   
  
He met Yuuri’s eyes, pupils wide and dark with lust. Victor then slowly and purposefully leant back in and bit his lower lip again, and again, and again, and again, gently rolling the lip between his teeth so that it was red and tingling and Yuuri was groaning because his mind was screaming with how hot this was.   
  
Yuuri could feel Victor smirk against his lip before mock-apologising for the bites by pressing slow, wet kisses to the abused spots.   
  
Yuuri couldn’t help himself as he pulled Victor against him properly. He was licking into Victor’s mouth gratefully when the other man kissed him again, pulling Victor’s hips roughly against his own. The sounds of their open-mouthed kissing filled the room.   
  
When they broke apart Yuuri was forcing Victor’s mouth back against his neck.   
  
There was no care given to where Victor was marking or who would be able to see the marks the next day. Yuuri’s breathing increased and his head thudded back against the door, baring his neck completely.  
  
Yuuri groaned at a particularly sharp bite which he was sure was going to leave teeth marks the next day.   
  
Abruptly, he pushed Victor off his neck and dropped to his knees.   
  
Victor clumsily shimmied his hips and Yuuri shoved the jeans down unceremoniously. Victor was wearing a black thong and the tip of his cock was peeking out of the top of his underwear. The tip was wet and shining.   
  
Yuuri gave it a soft kiss, tasting salt, then chose a spot to start sucking a purple mark into Victor’s left inner thigh, just above his knee. Long, elegant fingers tangled into his hair and held him tightly to his spot.   
  
“You. Are. So. Beautiful,” he said between lazy bites up towards Victor’s thong. Apparently alcohol made Yuuri’s normally poor brain-to-mouth filter, non-existent.   
  
He paused at the top of the thong, running his nose teasingly along the length of Victor’s cock, still trapped in the black material, before ducking back down to the first bite he’d placed on Victor’s thigh.   
  
He took his time to bite down firmly on each mark he’d left, suck colour into the spot and then bite down on it again to make sure it wouldn’t fade any time soon. Victor was going wild above him, growling and gasping, arching his back for more. There was also something very erotic about having the other man nearly naked while Yuuri was still fully clothed.   
  
Yuuri started making marks on the other leg. As he worked, he pushed his thumb firmly against the marks on the left, one by one, as he created new marks on the right side, so Victor could feel both at the same time. The moans Victor was making were ridiculous and made Yuuri groan in response.    
  
He finished the right side with a teasing lick over the last mark and then stood, pulling Victor over to the bed. Yuuri roughly pushed down the thong, watching hungrily as Victor’s cock popped free.   
  
Yuuri then fell backwards onto the bed, still clothed, and shuffled up so his head was on the pillow. He took the lube from the table next to him and ripped it open, letting his fingers get coated. A deliciously naked Victor crawled on top of him.   
  
Victor was ridiculously beautiful, covered in the bites and hickeys Yuuri had put all around his powerful muscled thighs. He was flushed, lips red and wet, and hair a mess.   
  
Yuuri met the gorgeous, hungry blue eyes.   
  
“Sit on me.”  
  
Victor’s eyes were dark. He didn’t protest even once.  
  
“As you wish.”  
  
Yuuri helped tug Victor up, using his strong hands on the other man’s hips.   
  
He groaned in appreciation as the other man straddled his face.   
  
Yuuri reached around with both hands and pulled Victor’s cheeks apart. He danced one lubed finger around Victor, teasing a soft circle with his finger.  
  
“Yuuuuri…” Victor growled.  
  
Yuuri pushed in at the same time as he dragged Victor’s hips forward and opened his mouth. Victor’s head fell back.   
  
“ _Fuuuuuck._ ”   
  
Yuuri bobbed his head a few times, but his neck quickly protested at the angle.   
  
He pulled back with a wet pop and fixed Victor with what he hoped was a stern stare.  
  
Victor looked back with his cheeks flushed and bit his lip, seeming to understand what Yuuri wanted.   
  
“Ok, ok.”  
  
Victor shifted his weight forward so that he was grasping the headboard with both hands.   
  
Yuuri reached up with the hand that wasn’t inside Victor and guided Victor’s cock back into his mouth.   
  
Then, gloriously, Victor began to fuck his face. Yuuri groaned around the cock appreciatively. It was wet and messy and Yuuri could have died happy. Saliva started to drip down Yuuri’s chin and jaw, and the combined sounds of his fingers slipping in and out of Victor in combination with the wet sounds of the blowjob were completely lewd. His own cock was painfully hard, but he refused to move either of his hands from pleasuring Victor. His wrist was aching at the awkward angle, but Victor was making the hottest noises Yuuri had ever heard from another human being. He didn’t pause for a second.   
  
The lube from his fingers had started dripping down Yuuri’s hand as well. He tried opening his mouth wider and the tiny shift had Victor’s cock hitting the back of his throat. Yuuri moaned again at the sensation and Victor swore above him, knuckles whitening on the headboard.   
  
“ _Jesus_ , Yuuri. If you keep doing that I’m going to… ”   
  
Yuuri moaned again as Victor fucked into his mouth forcefully. He thrust another finger into Victor abruptly without warning.   
  
“ _Yuuri! Fuck!_ ”  
  
Victor jerked violently and came, gasping incoherent Russian through the orgasm. Yuuri didn’t swallow until Victor slowly pulled out of his mouth. Consequently, some of the cum dripped out of the sides of his mouth and Victor groaned at the sight, licking at the side of his mouth where it was dripping out.   
  
Yuuri finally swallowed and made a face. It made Victor laugh breathlessly.  
  
“I don’t taste like strawberries?” Victor teased.  
  
Yuuri rolled his eyes.   
  
Victor’s mischievous look changed into something more lustful, eyes still dilated and wild.   
  
“I want to know what you taste like, Yuuri.”   
  
Not long later, Yuuri was muffling his screams of Victor’s name into his pillow.   
  
  
  
  
\----  
  
  
  
  
Yuuri woke up sore, hungover, and absolutely covered in teeth marks and hickeys. He looked over. Victor was no better.   
  
Yuuri covered his face with both hands when he realised his socks had been kept on the entire night. He was surprisingly touched by the gesture.   
  
When Victor woke not long after, they smiled sheepishly at each other. It was lucky the weather was so cold that no one questioned the long sleeves and high collars and scarves they both wore.   
  
They both had morning stubble growing around their chins and exchanged a slightly ticklish, prickly kiss.   
  
Victor’s voice sounded hoarse, but the man couldn’t look happier about it. Yuuri vowed to return to the nightclub they were at if he ever returned to this part of Korea ever again.   
  
“How did you know I was gay when you saw me at the hospital?” Yuuri asked curiously as they were getting ready and carefully covering up. He’d been wondering it since they met.   
  
He didn’t consider himself overtly flamboyant or camp or any of those other stereotypes which people often looked for. Phichit had tried and failed to convince him to join Grindr (although apparently the use of the app was currently exploding with the games running). Yuuri didn’t actively hide he was gay, but he still didn’t think that half his team knew about it at the same time.   
  
Victor snorted with laughter.  
  
“I didn’t. I just hoped you wouldn’t start yelling at me or worse if you were straight.”   
  
Yuuri slapped a palm over his eyes and groaned.   
  
“You’re ridiculous.”  
  
  
  
\----  
  
  
  
  
Yuuri felt like he was losing his mind doing interviews and photoshoots. How many times did he have to stand in front of the camera with his eyes glazed and a fake, upturned smile? Couldn’t journalists share photos or something?   
  
_Thank God_ the photoshoot wanted him in his full winter gear, which covered most of his skin.   
  
Both Yuuri and Victor had team obligations for the next two days, leaving them with no time to meet up during the day. Both nights, though, had been sleepless and filled with slick, naked skin and hot kisses. Yuuri had a visceral flashback during one photoshoot to the night before. Victor had smiled against his lumbar spine as Yuuri lay on his belly and trailed wet kisses downwards…  
  
Yuuri ignored the stone in his stomach while he watched one of the events on television with a group of teammates in someone’s room. _Three days_ his mind whispered. There were only three more days until the closing ceremony. Yuuri’s heart sank. Where the hell had the time gone? Only three more days until he had to say goodbye to Victor.   
  
  
  
\-----  
  
  
  
  
“Yuuri-kun!”  
  
Yuuri looked up from his breakfast.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
Minami was looked at him with large brown eyes.   
  
Yuuri self-consciously tugged his scarf a little higher around the fresh teeth marks he knew were lining his neck. He had another visceral flashback to Victor teasing the skin.   
  
Yuuri shook his head, trying to drive the image away.   
  
“Have you ever heard of the books by Kanako Odagki?”  
  
Yuuri had never heard of the name.  
  
He got the sense that his teammate tended to get fascinated with certain people and then obsess about them…  
  
Yuuri cleared his throat.   
  
“No I haven’t. Sorry, Minami-kun.”  
  
Minami looked shocked.  
  
“But Kanako Odagki is the best novelist in Japan’s history. She won the Noma Literary Prize, the Kuwabara Takeo Prize, the Yomiuri Prize and Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award!”  
  
“Uhh… “   
  
Yuuri gave him a small, exasperated smile.   
  
“That’s great, Minami-kun.”  
  
“I can’t believe Yuuri-kun, the greatest skater in Japanese history, doesn’t know of Kanako Odagki’s works! No matter, you can share my collection! It would be an absolute honour!”  
  
Minami nodded vigorously. Yuuri squirmed uneasily at the title of ‘greatest skater in Japanese history’.   
  
“In fact, her latest release was made only two weeks ago, but because of the intense Olympic training I haven’t had time to buy a copy.”  
  
Yuuri realised with an uncomfortable pang that Minami suddenly looked like he was on the edge of tears.   
  
“Uhh, Minami-kun… would you like me to get Kanako Odagki’s book for you?” Yuuri asked, sweat beading on his forehead.  
  
“Eeeeeeee!!”  
  
Yuuri stared at his teammate as Minami’s face suddenly brightened, his eyes becoming almost comically teary and wide.  
  
“Yuuri-kun would do that for me??”  
  
Yuuri forced laughter, scratching the back of his neck.  He’d been meaning to go to the book store to get something for himself anyway.   
  
“Sure.”  
  
Yuuri’s phone buzzed in his pocket as Minami made strange squee-ing noises, reminding Yuuri of a high-pitched dog toy.   
  
**Sender: Victor Nikiforov**  
**Yuuuuuuuuuriiiiiiii, I’m bored. Want to go exploring?  
  
** Yuuri felt the smile break across his face before he could stop it.   
**  
Sender: Yuuri Katsuki  
Actually, I’m about to go out.   
  
** The reply was immediate. **  
  
Sender: Victor Nikiforov  
Where are we going?**  
  
Yuuri laughed involuntarily. He felt a surge of affection… followed by a prickle of anxiety at how strong the affection felt. He was smiling at his phone like some kind of love-struck idiot…   
  
**Sender: Yuuri Katsuki  
It’s a surprise  
  
** Only then did he feel eyes watching him, and looked up to see Minami was staring at him with a confused, dejected expression.  
  
Yuuri felt the sudden urge to defend himself. Against what, he didn’t know.   
  
Before he could open his mouth, Minami started speaking quietly.   
  
“I’ve never seen you smile like that before.”  
  
Yuuri’s phone buzzed in his hand again.   
**  
Sender: Victor Nikiforov  
See you soon :D !!!**  
  
“I don’t know what you mean,” Yuuri murmured distractedly as he gulped down the rest of his breakfast.   
  
  
  
\----  
  
  
  
  
Victor stood deathly still next to him. Yuuri prayed he hadn’t made a mistake bringing him. Minami had watched him with an unreadable expression (rare for him) the entire time Yuuri got ready to leave.   
  
“I know it’s nerdy,” Yuuri rambled nervously, wringing his hands together, “most people just use their phones or e-readers now. But….there’s something I like about physical books? And Minami wanted me to pick something up for him…”  
  
Victor’s face was blank.  
  
“Umm that probably doesn’t make much sense? Sorry, please ignore this, we can go somewhere else if you like.”   
  
Suddenly, life came back into the other man. He whirled around and grabbed Yuuri by the shoulders.  
  
“No!” Victor shouted, causing a few people to look around at him in alarm, “I love books. I…”   
  
Victor released him just as quickly, looking uneasy. He worried his lip and shuffled his feet, eyes sliding up to the sky. The other man took a deep breath and lowered his voice to placate the people around them.  
  
“How did you know I liked books, Yuuri?”  
  
Victor looked strangely wary when he asked the question and Yuuri automatically shrugged defensively, already thinking of ways to apologise.   
  
It was a good question. Yuuri couldn’t really think of a good answer.   
  
“I just… I thought it was obvious?”   
  
Victor seemed like the type of person who got hooked on things and then poured over them with great enthusiasm. It didn’t seem unlikely to Yuuri, that Victor might skip over ten books, start reading book number eleven, get interested, and spend fifteen hours finishing the entire thing in one sitting.   
  
Victor looked even more floored by this.   
  
“You…. You thought it was obvious? _No-one_ knows this about me… No-one thinks it’s something I’d like at all….”   
  
Victor stepped back and ran a hand through his hair, like he couldn’t quite process the situation.   
  
He opened and closed his mouth like he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite get it out.   
  
Yuuri sucked in a breath.   
  
“You… you don’t have to tell me anything, Victor.”  
  
_Two days until the closing ceremony_ his mind whispered.   
  
Victor’s eyes snapped back to him.   
  
“That’s…” he began, then laughed, running a hand through his hair again, almost looking agitated. “You continue to surprise me, Yuuri.”  
  
Yuuri opened his mouth to apologise, but Victor held up a hand and Yuuri stopped, looking at him expectantly.   
  
“I’m… thinking of going back to university. Maybe part-time now? Or maybe full-time when I retire? I’m not sure. I think I’m ready to study something seriously.”

Yuuri looked at him in surprise and opened his mouth to speak, but Victor shook his head. Yuuri closed his mouth again.   
  
“I started university, but dropped out because of skiing. Training took up so much of my life I never had the time to go back.”    
  
Yuuri nodded in understanding. University was one of the times his own anxiety had been almost debilitating. The struggle to balance assignments, and training and competitions had been crushing.   
  
“That sounds wonderful, Victor,” Yuuri whispered. “What would you study?”  
  
Victor still looked a little stunned. Was it really the case that no one had ever thought Victor was capable of going to university?   
  
The other man cleared his throat.   
  
“Forgive my surprise. Not many people believe me when I say I want to study seriously.”   
  
Yuuri frowned, troubled by the admission.

“Why not? You’re obviously smart enough.”  
  
Victor looked at him like he’d just said something that wasn’t completely obvious. Yuuri was suddenly being swept up into a tight hug. Yuuri almost said ‘you need to get better friends’, but it was becoming clear to him Victor might not have too many friends?  
  
“Thank you,” came the heartfelt whisper. Yuuri hugged back almost numbly, thoughts spinning.   
  
They spent the rest of their time at the shop looking over the small English section of books. They told each other about their favourites, the genres they didn’t like so much (for Yuuri it was history; for Victor it was horror) and debated what Victor could study at university. Apparently, he was undecided, as several different subjects appealed to him.   
  
Yuuri bought Minami’s book in addition to three for his own collection. Victor poured over fifty or so books and ended up with only two in his hands.   
  
It was only mid-afternoon when they stumbled back to Yuuri’s room.   
  
Yuuri clung to Victor’s back, his fingers digging into Victor’s shoulder blades as Victor moved inside him. Yuuri groaned and arched his back, trying to press himself even closer to the other man. He couldn’t get enough of the sensation. In response, gentle kisses were dotted over his neck, chin and cheeks. Yuuri couldn’t help but huff a laugh and tilt his head back up, looking at Victor.   
  
“You’re tickling me”   
  
“Sorry.”   
  
Victor didn’t look sorry at all. He looked flushed and a little cheeky and a lot tender.

Yuuri had to look away abruptly, something clenching tightly in his heart which he couldn’t bring himself to acknowledge.   
  
Yuuri could feel a drop of sweat accumulate at the top of his left eyebrow. Before he could do anything about it, an achingly soft thumb was tenderly drawn across it, wiping it away. The hand then cupped the left side of his face and drew it gently back to look up at Victor.   
  
“Yuuri.”   
  
Victor pressed a very soft kiss to the tip of his nose.   
  
“Victor,” he whispered back, wide-eyed, feeling like his throat was about to close up.   
  
There were no other words to describe it. Victor made love to him.   
  
Yuuri saw stars.   
  
  
  
\---  
  
  
  
  
Victor stayed in his room overnight, curled up like an octopus around Yuuri. Yuuri woke up with his socks still on and a crick in his neck from not being able to turn over. He didn’t complain.   
  
They spent the rest of the next day having sex and cuddling, barely leaving the bed. Both made flippant excuses about feeling tired and needing to rest when their phones inevitably buzzed. They ordered in dinner when the light under Yuuri’s window started to fade.   
  
Victor had been quieter than usual all day, lying with his nose pressed into the nape of Yuuri’s neck or, when Yuuri rolled over, head pillowed on Yuuri’s chest and nose pressed into Yuuri’s collarbone.   
  
Yuuri hated it when people asked if he was ok when he obviously wasn’t, and so he abstained from asking Victor meaningless questions.   
  
Instead, ignoring the screaming warning bells in his brain, he let Victor tangle around him and drew soft patterns with his fingers on the naked skin of Victor’s back.   
  
They both shrugged on some clothes for dinner. It was too cold not to dress outside of the bed’s blankets. They then shared a quick shower and cuddled back together, naked (except for Yuuri’s socks) in Yuuri’s small bed.   
  
Victor was quiet against him for a while, face pressed into Yuuri’s neck again.   
  
He’d almost thought Victor had fallen asleep until the other stirred and reached up, playing with a dark lock of Yuuri’s hair. He heard the skier take a deep breath, as if he was preparing himself for something difficult.   
  
Immediately, Yuuri’s mind spiralled from calmness to anxiety.   
  
_He’s going to tell me this was all a mistake, that he already has a partner, that this was just a quick fling for him, that he regrets this entire week, that he just needed to blow off some steam, that he’s excited to head back to Russia, that he can’t wait until the Olympics are over, that this was all meaningless…._   
  
Yuuri was wrong.   
  
“I’m contemplating retiring,” Victor whispered.  
  
Yuuri lay very still, letting the statement sink in. Victor… wanted to retire? Victor was still on top of his game. Victor retiring made no sense.    
  
“What?” Yuuri whispered.   
  
He shifted so that they were lying face-to-face and he could see Victor’s expression. The other man was dead serious. Yuuri’s stomach dropped.   
  
“I don’t get joy out of competing anymore. I’m bored. I keep winning, but I don’t feel happy when I do.”  
  
Victor stared at him. Yuuri scrambled to think of a reply. Something supportive, something understanding…  
  
Instead, what came out was:   
  
“Victor… I… you don’t need to…”  
  
Yuuri took a deep breath.   
  
He felt stunned, out of his depth.   
  
“… Why are you telling me this?”   
  
_…when you’ll never see me again after the closing ceremony…  
_  
Maybe it was because Victor would never see him after the closing ceremony that he felt he could tell Yuuri things he didn’t tell other people?   
  
Victor shook his head, looking strangely intense.  
  
“Because this…”  
  
Victor gestured between them.  
  
“This has made me happy for the first time in a long time.”   
  
Yuuri’s confusion, trepidation and affection for the other man grew. His mind was still struggling to wrap his head around exactly what Victor was saying.   
  
“Sleeping with…?”   
  
_… A stranger?_  
  
He cringed as soon as the words were out of his mouth. They were blunt and didn’t feel right. But Victor acted like he hadn’t heard them at all.  
  
Yuuri yelped as Victor abruptly rolled on top of him. He intertwined their fingers and pinned Yuuri’s hands above his head.

Victor leaned down and drew small circles with his nose in the junction between Yuuri’s neck and left shoulder. Then he was licking a line up the cord of Yuuri’s neck.   
  
He was obviously done talking.   
  
Yuuri’s head fell backwards and Victor started pressing passionate open-mouthed kisses around his Adam’s Apple.

Yuuri couldn’t help the little alarm bells in his head growing stronger and stronger. His thoughts were a jumbled mess.   
  
_This isn’t fair on either of us… He’s retiring? … I don’t want this to end…_  
  
Yuuri gasped as Victor’s teeth teased his ear lobe.   
  
_I want to do this with Victor every day … I make him happy? ……What does that mean?  
_  
He pulled Victor closer despite his mind screaming at him that he should shove Victor away and not look back.  
  
Victor gently tugged on one of his nipples with his teeth and then soothed it with his teasing tongue.   
  
_…Tomorrow is the closing ceremony…_  
  
They both slowly lost their minds again.    
  
  
  
\-----  
  
  
  
  
The closing ceremony was beautiful.   
  
Everyone was in a celebratory, partying mood and cheered through the spectacles. There was singing, bright, colourful displays and choreographed dancing.   
  
When Japan was called through the booming speakers, hundreds of thousands of people watched from the stands as Yuuri marched into the stadium surrounded by his countrymen and women, holding a tiny plastic Japanese flag. Yuuri refused to look over his shoulder when Russia was announced.   
  
When every country’s name had been called, the dark night sky became decorated with rainbow fireworks as the Olympic flame was extinguished.   
  
The crowd erupted with cheers and applause.   
  
All around him, Yuuri’s Japanese teammates were smiling and laughing, waving at the crowd and taking selfies with one another. Even the ones who were leaving Korea empty-handed were grinning and hugging people and seemed in good spirits.

Yuuri – the silver-medallist, Japan’s ace, the country’s figure skating legend – felt like there was ash on his tongue and a heavy stone in his stomach. He was flying back to Japan tomorrow morning. Victor was flying back to Russia tomorrow evening.

It was the end of their time together.

He was never going to see the other man again.

 _I warned you not to get attached!!_ His brain screamed at him. Y _ou knew this was only going to end in pain!!  
_  
Yuuri grimaced as arms were hooked over his shoulders. He tried to smile through the selfies with his excited teammates. Thanked them as they congratulated him for the thousandth time. They didn’t seem to notice how fake his grins were. He didn’t blame them. He’d been avoiding Minami all night. Somehow he felt the other skater would see through him in an instant.

Yuuri felt his phone buzz in his pocket as the celebrations continued on around him.   
  
He knew who it would be. He was tempted to ignore it. Fireworks painted the sky red and blue.   
  
**Sender: Victor Nikiforov  
Meet me tonight?**

Yuuri gripped his phone tightly and felt his eyes starting to sting. _  
  
I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry…  
  
_**Sender: Yuuri Katsuki  
I don’t know if that’s a good idea Victor**   
  
It felt like someone was physically pushing a knife through his chest.

There was a pause in the reply, and Yuuri wondered if that was it…. If that was going to be the last message they exchanged.  
  
The urge to cry drew stronger and his fake smile for his teammates grew wobblier. There was a roar of approval from the crowd as the South Korean national anthem started playing.   
  
Finally, his phone buzzed again.   
  
**Sender: Victor Nikiforov**  
**Please Yuuri, I want to talk.**  
  
This man was going to ruin him, and Yuuri knew he’d been doomed from the very start.   
  
  
  
\----  
  
  
  
The closing ceremony finished late. It was another hour and a half after their last text before they were both able to slip away from their teammates. Yuuri’s tongue felt numb from the number of excuses he’d made to avoid being dragged out into the night to drink. He was sure Victor had the same problem.   
  
The hospital café was absolutely silent. Anyone with any sense was out partying the night away and having the times of their lives.   
  
Victor was already there, lingering around the entrance, when Yuuri arrived, looking just as broken as Yuuri felt.   
  
Yuuri came to a stop in front of him.   
  
They looked at each other.   
  
Victor was holding himself awkwardly like he didn’t know what to do with his limbs.  
  
Yuuri desperately wanted to hug or kiss the other man but froze himself solid.   
  
They were both still in their country uniforms; Victor in red and white, and Yuuri in blue and black. Somehow that made the ache in Yuuri’s chest even worse, and made the inevitability of what was about to happen even starker.   
  
“Uhh…”   
  
Yuuri gestured to the counter.  
  
“C-Coffee?”   
  
He internally cringed at himself.  
  
A faint smile flickered around Victor’s lips.  
  
“Déjà vu. Yes, let’s. I don’t think I will be sleeping much tonight.”  
  
Yuuri agreed silently. He was privately hoping he could exhaust his body tonight so that he was knocked out on the plane tomorrow and couldn’t think about who he was leaving.  
  
The tired looking barrister disappeared out the back of the café to clean as soon as their orders were completed and they were left in complete silence. There wasn’t even any soft background music playing through the speakers this time.   
  
Yuuri led them to a table along one of the walls. For a moment he was tempted to go back to the table they’d originally had their first coffee together at… But the thought of doing that and being sentimental hurt too much. They ended up on the other side of the café against a solid caramel-coloured wall, well away from their original spot.   
_  
_ The silence made Yuuri anxious and, nervously, he started to say the first thing that came to mind whilst staring at the table between them.   
  
“What will you do when you get to Russia? Relax for a while? Catch up with friends? Or maybe-“  
  
“Yuuri.”  
  
Yuuri grimaced at the table.   
  
“I know, that was insensitive. Sorry. I’ve never been good with people.”  
  
He twisted his fingers together nervously.   
  
Victor’s hand was clenched so tightly around his coffee cup that the paper had started to bend and distort, threatening to spill the liquid inside.   
  
“Look at me. Please.”   
  
Yuuri felt like crying again. His throat was tightening. It felt like someone had forced open his jaw and stuffed cotton wool into his mouth.   
  
“I…” Yuuri gritted his teeth and forced the words out, “I don’t want to….”   
  
“Then I’ll be blunt.”  
  
Yuuri’s heart squeezed.   
  
“I don’t have sex with strangers.”   
  
Yuuri grimaced and nodded.  
  
He knew this had been coming from the start.   
  
His heart started to crack.  
  
“I don’t spend time sight-seeing with strangers.”  
  
Yuuri gritted his teeth harder.  
  
“I don’t text strangers about my day.”  
  
Each sentence was like a physical blow to his stomach, making Yuuri feel sick.   
  
“I don’t tell strangers personal things about myself.”  
  
Yuuri’s knuckles were white where he was clenching them on his knees under the table.   
  
“... Because I know myself.”  
  
Yuuri forced his eyes up one inch at a time. They landed on Victor’s Russian jacket and couldn’t go any further.   
  
He should have just gone with his teammates and gotten plastered. It would have been far less painful than this.   
  
“I’m… not an easy person to deal with,” Victor begun again, looking away and frowning at his reflection in the window, “I’m blunt, I’m annoying, I don’t know how to deal with people crying…”  
  
Yuuri couldn’t stand this.   
  
“I get it, Victor,” he snapped, interrupting. “It’s not you, it’s me. Is that what you’re trying to say?”   
  
Their eyes met.   
  
Victor’s eyes narrowed. He bit out something in Russian and then switched back to English.  
  
“Yuuri. I don’t have sex with strangers… because I get too attached.”   
  
All the air left Yuuri’s lungs.  
  
“I’m forgetful, I’m impulsive and sometimes these traits mean I jump in when I should be more careful.”   
  
Yuuri was certain he was going to go into cardiac arrest if his heart didn’t calm down in a second.   
  
“What are you saying…?” Yuuri whispered, fingernails digging into the meat of his palms.  
  
Victor laughed, although it sounded like he was about two seconds away from crying.   
  
“You’re not making this easy for me, Yuuri.”  
  
He tried to, but Yuuri couldn’t quite push the words ‘I’m sorry’ out of his throat.  

Victor looked so tired and broken. Yuuri’s heart cracked a little more.  
  
He started speaking. He couldn’t stop himself. The thoughts were swirling too rapidly inside his head.  
  
Victor closed his eyes as the words started tumbling out of Yuuri’s mouth.  
  
“That’s not good enough, Victor! I’m not easy to deal with either… I can get a bit stressed? And anxious? I’m not sure if you’ve noticed? I also don’t know how to deal with people crying. And I’m not a morning person! I’m also–”  
  
Victor opened his eyes and Yuuri was startled to see they were wet.   
  
“Yuuri. I… I want more”  
  
Yuuri’s throat was too tight.   
  
“What?” he whispered, voice cracking.   
  
Victor smiled weakly.  
  
“I’m trying to say I want more. I don’t want to get on a plane tomorrow without you on it. I don’t want this to end here. How do I make it clearer? …Should I ask you to be my boyfriend or something?”  
  
Yuuri’s cheeks heated up.   
  
“No!” Yuuri shouted, tears starting to collect at the corner of his eyes, “Please don’t say things if you don’t mean them!”  
  
“Yuuri,” Victor breathed. “It is cruel saying things like that when you know I mean it.”  
  
They stared at each other.   
  
Yuuri’s heart was about to burst out of his chest.   
  
“… Victor is cruel. Asking if I will be his boyfriend when he knows the answer has been yes from the first moment in the hospital.”   
  
  
  
\----  
  
  
  
They cuddled in Yuuri’s bed that night, without undressing. When morning came, it was all lingering hugs and desperate melancholy kisses before Victor shuffled reluctantly out of the door and into a taxi bound for the airport.   


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
\-----  
  
  
  
**Two years later…**  
  
“I think the biggest thanks needs to go to Minami and Yuri,” Phichit announced during his speech at Victor and Yuuri’s wedding.   
  
Yuuri groaned, while Victor looked delighted at where the speech was going.   
  
“Yuuri and Victor met in a hospital at the 2018 Pheyongchang Olympics after both their teammates Minami and Yuri injured themselves.”   
  
Victor grinned and wrapped an arm around Yuuri’s shoulder.   
  
“I really should have asked Yuri to break his wrist sooner in a competition,” Victor quipped with a heart-shaped grin.  
  
The crowd of family and friends in front of them gasped with laughter while Yuri snarled at them, his partner Otabek holding him back with a firm hand on his shoulder.   
  
Yuuri, his _husband_ Yuuri, pressed his lips together in amusement.   
  
“Although maybe I shouldn’t thank them…” Phichit pondered, a cheeky grin lighting up his face, “Yuuri didn’t stop whining to me the entire time he and Victor had to do long-distance.”  
  
“ _Phichit!_ ”  
  
Yuuri flushed.

“They only managed to keep it up for 6 months before Victor jumped on a plane to Japan and didn’t come back.”   
  
The crowd cheered good-naturedly.   
  
“It caused a media storm in Russia when their champion started coaching Japanese skiers!”  
  
Victor had the decency to look sheepish. He hadn’t quite anticipated the uproar his leaving would cause. Poor Yavok had definitely lost hair over the entire event.   
  
“But not as much controversy as when Yuuri drunkenly posted a picture of their shiny new engagement rings on Instagram!”  
  
The crowd hooted with laughter and Yuuri covered his pink face with both hands.  
  
“He was officially labelled the heartbreaker of Russia!”  
  
  
  
\----  
  
  


Later that night they slid naked against each other for the first time as husband and husband.   
  
“I love you. I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you.”  
  
Yuuri laughed breathlessly.   
  
“Really? I just thought you were an overly friendly stranger in the hospital,” he teased.   
  
Victor smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to the hollow of Yuuri’s throat.   
  
“Always so mean to me… even on our wedding night.”   
  
Yuuri lifted Victor’s chin and kissed him gently.    
  
“I love you so, _so_ much, Vitya,” he muttered in clumsy Russian, making Victor’s breath hitch with emotion.

Victor beamed and pressed their foreheads together.   
  
“I still can’t believe we met in an Olympic hospital, of all places,” Yuuri mumbled, brushing their noses together in a gentle eskimo kiss.   
  
Victor chuckled and hummed in agreement.  
  
Stranger things had happened.


End file.
